Chosen Girl
by AnimationNut
Summary: Charlotte Potter is the Girl who Lived. She is told she is the one to defeat the Dark Wizard when he returns to power. Flanked by her new friends, Charlotte experiences her very first adventure at Hogwarts. AU. Harry will make appearance.
1. Charlotte Potter The Girl Who Lived

**So I've seen a few of these and decided to try one myself. The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Charlotte Potter-The Girl Who Lived**

Sleeping in the cupboard under the stairs never granted a peaceful night's sleep, but after eleven years (and over a dozen spider bites) Charlotte Potter was well used to her 'living' conditions.

A pounding on the door roused the tired ten-year old girl from her restless slumber and she shoved herself up. "Are you up yet girl?" The rather annoying voice of her Aunt Petunia screeched.

Charlotte (or Charlie, as she preferred to be called) scowled and rubbed her bright green eyes. "Yes ma'am." It came out more sarcastic then she intended, and of course her _wonderful _aunt (yeah right) picked up on the tone of disrespect right away.

"Don't take that tone with me, you insolent brat! Now hurry up and tend to the bacon, and don't you _dare _burn it! I want everything perfect for Dudder's birthday."

Charlie resisted the urge to gag as she struggled out of her small cot. She got dressed quickly in the oversize t-shirt and jeans that used to belong to her idiot cousin Dudley. Now, she could care less about wearing boy's clothes, but would it really kill her relatives to actually go out and _buy _her something new once in a while?

She opened the cupboard door and allowed her vision to adjust to the bright sunlight streaming through the windows. With a soft sigh, she shuffled into the kitchen.

If you were a stranger entering the immaculate Dursley household, you would never even think that there were two children living there. First of all, all the pictures on the walls and over the piano (which was never used) show a fat man with a large neck, a woman with horse-like teeth and a long neck, and a big fat lump of a boy with a thick mass of blond hair.

These three were Charlie's only living relatives; her Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and her cousin Dudley. They liked to pretend Charlie didn't exist, but had no trouble in using her as their own personal maid.

When Charlie had questioned the fate of her parents, Aunt Petunia curtly replied that they died in a car crash. Charlie found this rather odd; as she was certain flashes of green light weren't typical in car crashes. But in the Dursley household, you don't ask questions. So she simply had to accept the answer that her parents perished in a car crash.

Charlie got to work cooking the bacon and watched the pieces of meat sizzle in the pan. Uncle Vernon lumbered in and plopped down at the table, which was overflowing with brightly wrapped gifts. "Cut your hair!" He barked, and that was the closest thing to a 'Good Morning' as Charlotte could get.

The ten-year old quelled an eye roll. Her hair was rather long, and it got tangled quite often. But no matter how many times Aunt Petunia cut it, it always grew back in a matter of hours. But that was alright. Her fringe covered the weird lightning-shaped scar on her forehead that she got from the car crash. Her long, raven hair was currently tied up in a ponytail so it would not fall into the pan and catch on fire.

Charlie had just finished frying the eggs when Dudley arrived in the kitchen. He counted his presents and then his face fell. "**Thirty-six. That's two less than last year.**"

_Spoiled brat... _Charlie thought.

"**Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, its here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy.**" Petunia pointed out.

"**All right, thirty-seven then.**"

Charlie could feel a nasty Dudley tantrum coming on and hurriedly gobbled down her bacon in case Dudley tried to flip the table.

Petunia sensed this as well and quickly said, "And when we go out, we'll buy you _two _more presents. How does that sound sweetie?"

Dudley furrowed his brow as he tried to work it out. "So...I'll have thirty..."

"Thirty-nine, dear."

"That's all right then." Dudley plopped in his chair and started tearing apart his presents. Vernon chuckled and ruffled Dudley's hair fondly. Charlie rolled her eyes. The phone rang and Aunt Petunia scurried to answer it. Charlie watched as her cousin unwrapped a remote-controlled car, a racing bike, a cinema camera and was just in the process of unwrapping something else when Aunt Petunia stormed back into the kitchen, angry and upset.

"Bad news Vernon. Mrs. Figgs won't be able to babysit her. She broke her leg..."

Charlie couldn't help but feel excited. It wasn't often she got out, and Dudley got to go to the best places for his birthday. And every time she went to Mrs. Figgs, she had to hear about her cats and it was terribly boring.

"What about Marge?" Vernon suggested.

_No! Anyone but her! _Charlie thought desperately.

"Don't be silly. Marge hates the girl." Petunia dismissed with a frown.

_Feelings mutual... _Charlie thought with a soft scowl. She was used to the Dursleys talking about her as if she weren't even there. They often discussed her as if she were...a piece of gum on the bottom of their shoes-a terrible bother and extremely annoying.

"I can just stay here," she offered. It wasn't often she got to stay home alone. She was looking forward to watching some TV and playing on Dudley's computer.

"And come back to find my home in ruins? I don't think so!" Petunia snapped.

_What exactly do they think I'm capable of? _Charlotte thought irritably. _Sure, a few strange things have happened. I'm sure there are logical explanations. I didn't mean to turn Dudley's hair pink, and I'm certain I didn't teleport myself to the school roof when Dudley and his gang were chasing me._

Dudley immediately burst into tears. He discovered that if he cried hard enough, he could get whatever he wanted. "I d-don't w-want her to c-come! She'll r-ruin e-everything!"

Petunia hurried to calm her son and Charlie shook her head and gathered the dishes up. Today, nothing would go wrong. She would make sure of it.

...

Piers Polkiss was Dudley's best friend, and Charlie (who had no friends thanks to Dudley) found herself pressed against the window of Vernon's car as the two kept shoving against her and snickering. Charlie kept reminding herself that it would all be worth it when she had her first trip to the zoo.

Her bright green eyes idly observed a motorbike roaring by and she commented without thinking. "I had a dream about a flying motorbike last night..."

Vernon slammed on the brakes and whirled around, face turning red. "THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS FLYING MOTORBIKES!"

Dudley and Piers snickered and Charlie arched an eyebrow. "I know that. It was just a dream..." _Geez, I wonder what his problem is._

When they got to the zoo, it was packed with many families. Charlie even got a cheap lemon ice lolly when the Dursleys couldn't hustle her away from the nice lady in the ice cream van fast enough. It wasn't too bad either.

Charlie made sure to walk behind the others. The last thing she wanted was for Dudley and Piers to play their favourite game, Punch-Charlotte-Until-She-Gets-A-Broken-Rib.

The gorilla held a remarkable comparison to Dudley, but Charlie was sure the gorilla was smarter.

She should have known everything was too good to last. After lunch they entered the reptile house. Dudley and Piers hammered on the glass of the largest python in the place. When they couldn't get it to do anything, they got bored and went off. Charlie approached the glass and sighed. "At least you don't have to put up with them all the time."

Then the snake _winked _at her.

Stunned, Charlie looked around to see if anyone else had noticed. They hadn't. She turned back around and stared at the snake. Then she winked back.

It jerked its head towards Dudley and Piers and cast what seemed to be a sympathetic glance towards her. Charlie smiled. "Thanks. I manage to survive. So, where do you come from?"

The snake jabbed its tale at the sign near the glass. Charlie glanced at it. "Brazil huh? Is it nice there?"

The snake jabbed at the sign again. "Oh...you were bred in the zoo. So you've never been to Brazil before?"

It shook its head. At that point Dudley lumbered over and shoved Charlie out of the way, knocking her to the ground. "LOOK AT THE SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT!"

Charlie scowled and glared daggers at her cousin. Suddenly, the glass disappeared and Dudley stumbled forward in shock. The snake slithered out and screams started erupting around them. Avoiding the stampeding feet, the snake hissed, "_Thankssss_."

Charlie widened her green eyes as the snake slithered away. She was yanked upwards by her uncle and ushered roughly from the reptile house.

_I am going to be in my cupboard for a long time..._Charlie thought wearily as she was tugged away.

**So here's the introduction. So yes, this is an AU. I will throw Harry in here eventually, I just haven't figured out how yet. And if you have any suggestions, I do take them :)**

**Review please.**


	2. Barrage of Letters

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Barrage of Letters**

Charlotte could not remember a time when she had been confined to her cupboard for so long. Just as she was certain she would die of boredom (playing cards with yourself got rather boring after a while) Uncle Vernon let her out. In fact, she had been in her cupboard for so long Dudley had already busted a quarter of his gifts and her eyes took a while to adjust to the bright sunlight.

But it wasn't long before Charlie wished she could stay in her cupboard. Dudley's gang of morons never failed to visit, and of course they enjoyed taunting and teasing her mercilessly. It was almost as bad as it was when she was at school.

Ugh...school. How could school be enjoyable when she had no friends? They were all scared away by Dudley, who felt like it was his job to ensure her life was horrible.

Her school marks weren't that bad, but of course even though Dudley just scraped by, he got all the rewards and presents.

_I'll be starting a new school next year, _she thought to herself as she mopped the kitchen floor, sweat causing her black bangs to stick to her forehead. _Maybe I'll make a friend while Dudley is off at his fancy Smeltings School._

When Dudley proudly showed off his new uniform at dinner the next night, Charlie had to bite her knuckle to keep from laughing. Her cousin looked ridiculous!

_Not as ridiculous as I'm going to look..._she thought the next morning as her nose curled in distaste. Her aunt was currently tending to her new school uniform. All of Dudley's old grey articles of clothing were floating in the tub of foul-smelling water. _I'm going to look like a saggy elephant._

Charlie didn't complain though. The last thing she wanted was to miss dinner and be sent to her cupboard.

Sometimes she wondered if anything exciting would ever happen to her.

...

"Dudley! Knock it off!" Charlie snapped in irritation as her cousin smacked her once more with his stupid stick. Her elbow jostled her glass of milk and it tipped over, spilling all over the scratch-free wooden table. Petunia glared at her and Charlie opened her mouth to protest. The words died on her tongue when Vernon glowered warningly at her. With a weary sigh she stood up (getting whacked in the knees by Dudley as she did so) and grabbed a washcloth from the sink.

The sound of letters hitting the mat in the front hallway caused Vernon to say, "Dudley, get the mail."

Dudley scowled. How dare his father ask him to _do _something! "Make _Charlotte _get it!"

Charlie twitched slightly at the use of her full name and wiped up her spill. "Charlotte, go get the mail."

The annoyed ten-year old girl scowled. She chucked the washcloth into the sink and complained, "Make Dudley get it!"

"Dudley, hit her with your Smeltings stick." Vernon muttered from behind his newspaper.

Charlie hastily dodged the weapon and stalked into the front hall muttering under her breath. She scooped the pile of mail and flicked through them idly. Her finger froze on one thick envelope and she gaped at the emerald ink words scrawled on the back.

_Charlotte Lily Potter  
__**The Cupboard under the Stairs  
4 Privet Drive  
Little Whinging  
Surrey**_

She slowly turned the letter over and stared at the odd purple wax seal. It had four animals; a lion, eagle, badger and a snake surrounding the letter H. "This has to be some sort of joke..." she whispered to herself, green eyes still wide with shock. She had never gotten a letter in her life, and she certainly didn't know anyone that would send her such an odd piece of post.

"Hurry up!" Uncle Vernon shouted from the kitchen. "What's taking so long girl? Get your hand stuck in the mail slot?"

Charlie rolled her green eyes as Vernon chuckled at his own joke. She entered the kitchen and absent-mindedly handed her uncle his mail and took her seat, ignoring her rapidly-cooling pancakes and fingering the edge of the envelope.

Dudley noticed this immediately, and he was not keen on the idea of Charlie having something and he didn't. "Charlotte's got a letter!" He cried, pointing a fat finger towards the ten-year old girl. She was about to pull out a heavy piece of parchment when it was snatched from her hands.

"Hey!" She cried angrily. "That's mine!"

Uncle Vernon snorted. "**Who'd be writing to you?**" He shook the letter out and glanced at the first line. He immediately turned red, and then a greyish colour. "Petunia!" He rasped, shaking the letter in front of her face. Petunia took it curiously and after reading the first sentence gasped in horror and chucked it to the floor, as if afraid it would come to life and bite her.

"What do we do?" She asked shrilly. "Vernon-how could they possibly-?"

It was then Uncle Vernon realized that Dudley and Charlie were still in the kitchen. Dudley was staring at them as if they'd gone mad and Charlie was trying to slip by and retrieve her letter. "OUT! THE BOTH OF YOU!"

Dudley was outraged. "I want to read it!"

Charlie scowled when her aunt grabbed her tightly by the arm and dragged her out of the kitchen. "_You _want to read it? It's my letter!"

"OUT!" Vernon roared. He grabbed Dudley by the neck of his sweater and chucked him into the hall. Petunia shoved Charlie after her cousin and slammed the kitchen door shut. Whispering immediately erupted from behind the shut door and the two cousins started jostling for the keyhole. Dudley won and pressed his ear against it, and Charlie (bruised, battered, and sporting a black eye) got down and listened intently through the crack between the door and the floor.

...

"How do they know?" Petunia cried, wringing her hands together nervously. "Surely they can't be watching us!"

"Of course they are!" Vernon muttered, pacing the length of the kitchen at rapid speed as he tried to think. "How else would they know she lived in the cupboard?"

"What should we do?" Petunia asked. "Should we write them back? Tell them to leave us alone? We agreed Vernon! We agreed we would not let her kind in our house!"

"Calm down!" Vernon soothed. "I'm sure we're close to stamping that horrid stuff out of her. We agreed, didn't we, that she would not be associated with _those _people when we took her in? Yes, it's best we just ignore them. They'll pick up on the hint sooner or later."

...

Charlie leaned on her small cot and furrowed her brow. Her eavesdropping session offered more questions than answers, and she wondered what Uncle Vernon meant by _those _people. It would do no good to ask, she was certain.

A knock came at her cupboard door and she frowned. She hesitantly called, "Yes?", and the door swung open.

"Uncle Vernon?" Charlie asked in disbelief. It was not often-actually, rarely at all-that her uncle visited her in her cupboard. "What-?"

"I've been thinking," he interrupted. "You're getting to be rather big for this cupboard. I believe it would be best if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom-"

"Why?" Charlie asked suspiciously. "And where's my letter?"

"It was a misaddress." Uncle Vernon said curtly. "Now-"

"It was not!" Charlie exploded angrily. "It was addressed to _me_! It even said 'Cupboard under the Stairs'!"

"ENOUGH!" Vernon roared. "No more questions! Take your things and go to Dudley's second bedroom this instant!"

Charlie scowled and grabbed her possessions (which were a few hand-me-down clothes, worn out books and an old deck of cards) and stormed up the stairs. She kicked open the door to Dudley's second bedroom, which had become the toy room.

Many broken toys littered the shelves and floor. The only relatively new things in the room were the books stacked on the shelves, shiny covers glossy in the morning light. Charlie shoved the assortment of toys off of her new bed and collapsed on it with a sigh. She could hear Dudley throwing a fit downstairs. "I don't _want _her in my room! She'll contaminate it!"

Charlie snorted. _That's a big word for someone with such a small brain..._

Normally, she would have been happy at the idea of sleeping in a real bed. But now all she wanted was to curl up in her cupboard with that mysterious letter...

...

Breakfast the next morning was filled with a tense silence. Dudley was cross with everyone in the room and kept hitting them with his Smeltings stick whenever he got the chance. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia sat in a tense silence and Charlie was holding a bag of ice to her black eye while she ate her cereal.

The mail hit the mat again and Charlie moved to get. She got quite the surprise when Vernon ordered _Dudley _to retrieve it.

He wasn't happy. He whacked his father with his stick as he stormed past and grabbed the mail from the hallway. "Hey! There's another one! _Charlotte Lily Potter, __**The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive-**_"

Uncle Vernon jumped from his seat and charged into the hall like an angry rhinoceros. Charlie cried out in fury and hurried after him. She tackled her uncle and Dudley jumped into the fray, each trying to retrieve the letter. Charlie only let go of her uncle when she got hit by the blasted Smeltings stick and hit the hard floor, dazed.

Vernon clutched the letter in his meaty hands, panting heavily and his face red. "Go to your bedroom!" He wheezed, pointing a shaking finger at the staircase. "And Dudley...just go!"

Charlie stomped up the stairs and rubbed her sore head. Next time, she thought. Next time for sure.

...

Charlie stood still in the dark room, her green eyes never leaving the glowing numbers of her alarm clock. She hadn't been able to sleep, and so she waited for six o'clock to arrive. She had a plan: she would sneak outside and wait for the postman to come.

Six o'clock arrived and Charlie slipped out her bedroom door. She tiptoed down the stairs and skipped over the one that creaked. She could feel her heart thudding with excitement as she reached the front door.

"AAAAGGGHHH!"

Charlie shrieked and stumbled backwards into the wall. The light flicked on and Charlie was horrified to discover she had just stepped on her uncle's face. _That is so not fair! I had this idea first!_

"Go make a kettle of tea!" He hissed, holding his aching jaw. Charlie slumped and shuffled into the kitchen. By the time she carried the cup of tea back to her uncle, he was tearing up her letter. "Hey! You can't-"

Vernon ignored her. He stayed home that day and started nailing the mail slot shut. Petunia watched him worriedly. "Dear, I really don't think-"

"It's a foolproof plan!" Vernon cackled. "Can't give us mail without a mail slot, can they?"

It turned out they could. The next morning dozens and dozens of letters came pouring through the open windows and even down the chimney! Charlie hastily jumped up and down, trying to retrieve at least one when her uncle threw her into the hallway. "THAT'S IT! WE'RE LEAVING! PACK UP YOUR BAGS!"

Charlie was dismayed to find her uncle already in the process of burning her letters. With a scowl she stormed up the stairs and packed a small suitcase with extra clothes, a book and her cards. "I don't get it! What's so bad about me getting one stinking letter?"

...

Uncle Vernon piled them all into the car and they drove for what seemed like forever. Charlie was certain her uncle had gone mad, and stared miserably out the window. They made a lot of twist and turns and Vernon was mumbling under his breath, never taking his eyes off of the road. Dudley was complaining and whining and Charlie was developing a headache.

After many hours of no food or any sort of stop, they pulled up in front of the shabbiest hotel Charlie had ever seen. Wrinkling her nose she wearily followed her relatives through the creaky door. They got a room and Charlie laid awake throughout the night, listening to Dudley's snores and wondering what was so important about the content of those letters that they were being persistently sent.

...

The next morning they had a breakfast of soggy cornflakes. The hotel owner came up to them and said, "I have a 'undred letters for a Charlotte Potter at the front desk. Is one of you her?"

Charlie stood up and reached for one of the letters when Uncle Vernon slapped her hand away. "I'll take them all!"

Vernon drove again, this time with the madness of a...well, a madman. Charlie was still trying to process that out of a hundred letters, she had not managed to get a single one.

They ended up in a boat, shivering a wet as the wind blew and a steady drizzle fell. Charlie curled up in a ball and moaned as the boat tossed and turned. When would this end?

"We're here!" Vernon shouted gleefully. "And it's raining! Isn't it wonderful?"

They travelled onto the rock and into a broken down house. Charlie shivered violently and got dressed in her extra clothes. Her black hair was plastered to her face and she sat by the fire, trying to get some warmth into her body.

Soon night approached and the storm raged on. Waves hit the rickety walls of the shack and there was a leak. Charlie, of course, got the floor while Dudley got the sofa. She stared at the glowing numbers on Dudley's watch and sighed. She would be eleven in a few minutes. Would the Dursleys even remember? They never had before...

There was a creaking from outside. _The roof better not cave in. Wouldn't that be a wonderful birthday present? Buried under a ton of wood and mould. Two minutes left..._

A crunching noise came from outside and Charlie furrowed her brow. She had never heard a noise like that before...

She let out a shriek when the door burst off its rusty hinges, allowing the rain to spray into the house. Dudley hollered in fright at the loud noise and fell off the sofa. Charlie scrambled backwards and widened her green eyes at the large giant that loomed in the doorway.

"Charlotte Potter!" The loud, deep voice of the giant boomed. "It's good ta see yeh!"


	3. A Trip to Diagon Alley

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**A Trip to Diagon Alley**

Charlie gaped at the large man framed in the doorway. The only sentence she managed to form was, "I prefer to be c-called Charlie."

Dudley squealed with fright when the giant entered the shack. He bolted up and sprinted as fast as he could for his parents. He collided with them as the two adult Dursleys charged into the room and they landed in a heap on the floor. If Charlie wasn't so stunned, she'd be amused.

"Las' time I saw you, you were only a baby!" The man said cheerfully as he squeezed into the tiny shack. "How yeh been?"

Charlie was beginning to think she was hallucinating, if not dreaming. Surely this couldn't be happening? "Er...all right, I suppose. And you?" She asked politely.

The man did not get to answer, as Vernon clambered to his feet and bellowed, "Get out of here at once!"

"Shut up Dursley, yeh insufferable lump. We've bin wonderin' why Charlotte-Charlie, I mean-hasn't bin gettin' 'er letters. I su'pose you'd be the cause?"

Charlie watched in confusion as her uncle turned a bright red. Petunia and Dudley huddled in corner, eyes wide with fear. "Er...excuse me, but how did you know about my letters? And who are you exactly?"

"Where are my manners?" He exclaimed, beaming down at her through his tangle of bushy brown beard. "I'm Rubeus Hagrid; Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts."

"It's very nice to meet you, but I'm afraid I'm a little confused." Charlie admitted. "What _is_ so important about this letter?"

Hagrid looked surprised. "Why, it's yer Hogwarts letter of course!"

"My what?" Charlie was completely at a loss now. What on earth was Hogwarts?

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL HER!" Vernon boomed, his courage returning. "She's not to know about that dreadful place! We-"

"Yeh mean ta tell me that she don't know nothin' abou' Hogwarts?" Hagrid asked furiously, brandishing his pink umbrella threateningly as he glowered at the Dursleys. "Nothin' at all?"

"Afraid not," Charlie piped up with a confused frown. "What exactly is Hogwarts, if you care to enlighten me?"

Hagrid plopped down on the sofa and it creaked under his weight. "I su'pose yeh better read this first. Then I'll answer any questions yeh have."

Charlie's bright green eyes lit up when Hagrid removed another one of those thick envelopes from his heavy brown jacket. Vernon went to intercept it but a violent glare from Hagrid caused him to reluctantly step back and fume.

She eagerly opened the seal and pulled out the heavy parchment in awe. Scrawled in green ink were the words;

_Dear Miss Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a position here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your list of school supplies is enclosed with this letter._

_Please note that Term One begins on September the First. Your owl should not be later than July Thirty-First._

_Deputy Headmistress,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

Charlie stared at the letter in shock for a few moments before casting a glance at the book list. This was one of the most ridiculous things she had ever heard of! This simply could not be happening. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but magic isn't real."

It was Hagrid's turned to be stunned. "O' course magic is real!"

"No it's not!" Vernon injected quickly. "This man is mad! Mad, I tell you!"

"SILENCE!" Hagrid roared, twirling his umbrella high in the air and bringing it down upon the Dursleys. There was a flash of light and the Dursleys cowered. Vernon angrily opened his mouth-but no sound came out.

Charlie gaped. "Whoa! I've been wanting to do that for _years!_"

"That's better." Hagrid muttered. "Now we can chat without the inter'uptions." He settled himself back on the sofa and Charlie nervously sat down across from him. Hagrid regarded her closely for a moment. "Yeh got yer Mum's eyes," he said suddenly. "But yeh look a lot like yer father."

Charlie blushed. "Thanks." She did not get to hear much about her deceased parents, so this pleased her. "I guess my first question is...how can I be a witch?"

"Yer parents were the greatest witch and wizard of their year. Yer mother, Lily was a Muggleborn. Yer father was a pureblood. They were close friends of Albus Dumbledore, and I su'pose You-Know-Who realized that he could never get them to come over to his side. So...he killed 'em."

Charlie blinked. "Mr. Hagrid-"

"Everyone calls me Hagrid," he interrupted.

"Okay-Hagrid, I really think you're mistaken. My parents died in a car crash."

Hagrid leapt to his feet once more. "A CAR CRASH!" He bellowed, turning burning eyes onto the adult Dursleys who were frozen in the corner. "That's a load of codswallop! No car crash could kill Lily an' James! What lies have yeh been feeding this girl?" Hagrid demanded. Vernon tried to summon his best threatening glare, but it did not work.

"And who exactly is this You-Know-Who guy?" Charlie questioned, confused once more.

Hagrid sighed and ran a large hand down the side of his face. "I knew somet'ing was off when yeh didn't send yer owl. But I never knew that yeh knew _nothing!_"

Charlie shrugged, her long black hair falling over her shoulders. She hiked up her way-to-big green sweatshirt and crossed her legs on the hard floor. "Well, let me see what I got so far-I'm a witch and I've been accepted into Hogwarts. My parents were a witch and wizard, and they were not killed in a car crash."

Hagrid nodded. Charlie frowned thoughtfully. "But...if there wasn't a car crash...then how did I get this?" She brushed back her black bangs and pointed to the lightning shaped scar on her forehead.

"I shouldn't be the one telling yeh this..." Hagrid said anxiously. "But it would do yeh no good to enter Hogwarts knowin' nothing abou' yer past...

"I don' like saying his name. In fact, only Albus Dumbledore says his name. You-Know-Who is known as Voldemort." Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. You-Know-Who is the darkest wizard of all time. He's killed thousands, some of the best. He especially hates Muggles-that's the name for non-magic folk-and some say the only person he fears is Albus Dumbledore."

"If Voldemort-sorry, You-Know-Who-is so powerful , then how come I didn't die with my parents?" Charlie asked.

"No one knows. That's why yer known as the Girl-Who-Lived. Yer famous in our world, Charlie! No one has ever survived You-Know-Who when he's decided he wants yeh dead! But the thing is...he couldn't kill yeh! No one knows why...except maybe Dumbledore. That night...when he tried teh kill yeh...someth'ing happened. You-Know-Who just _couldn't _kill you.

"That scar on yer forehead? That's from an evil curse. It took yer parents and yer house, but not yeh."

Charlie was shocked once more. "But...what happened to You-Know-Who?"

"Dunno. Some say he died, but I doubt he had any mortality left in him teh die. I still think he's out there...biding his time. Too weak to make his move yet."

"I defeated the darkest, powerful wizard when I was only an infant?" Charlie repeated in surprise. "Whoa...that's a lot to take in."

Hagrid nodded solemnly, then brightened. "Almost forgot! It's yeh birthday, right?" He ignored Charlie's incredulous expression and pulled a package from out of his thick coat. "Here yeh go."

Charlie took the gift and opened it. Inside was a slightly squished vanilla cake. Feeling suddenly emotional, she stammered out a thank you.

"Come along then." Hagrid stood up and motioned for her to follow. "We've got a lot o' shoppin' teh do."

Charlie scrambled up and hurried after the giant. Vernon, making one last desperate, silent attempt to stop them, threw himself in front of the door, face turning purple.

"Bug off, yeh annoyin' lump!" Hagrid growled and shoved Vernon out of the way. Without casting a backwards glance, Charlie hurried out after him.

...

"Hagrid?" Charlie asked the next morning as she and Hagrid walked down the streets of London. The night had been spent travelling back to civilization by boat, followed by a quick nap and then breakfast. "I meant to ask before; what's with the pink umbrella?"

She wasn't certain, but Hagrid might have blushed. "Er, well...I got expelled in me third year. I'm not su'posed teh go magic, so I'd appreciate if yeh didn't tell anyone 'bout the Dursleys."

"Will they get their voices back?" Charlie asked.

"In a few more hours, yes."

"Darn..."

They entered a place called the Leaky Cauldron. A silence fell over the people before Charlie found herself assaulted by eager witches and wizards. She shook every hand she could, and met her soon-to-be professor, Quinirus Quirrell.

"He stammers a lot..." Charlie mused when they managed to escape out the back way.

"Rumour has it he encountered a vampire and was never the same again." Hagrid remarked. They approached a brick wall and Hagrid tapped one particular brick. Charlie's green eyes widened when a doorway appeared before them. She hastily climbed after Hagrid and found herself in the most wonderful place.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley!" Hagrid said cheerfully.

Charlie looked at every odd shop and gaped. The place was amazing! "Hagrid...this is so cool! But...I'm afraid I won't be able to afford anything on this list." She waved her items list in the air and frowned. "And I certainly can't let you pay for it all!"

"Yeh didn't think yer parents left you with nothin', did yeh?"

"How-?"

"Gringotts," he supplied. "It's the wizarding bank that's run by goblins."

Charlie followed him up to a snowy-white building that loomed over all the other shops. She felt her eyes would pop out of her sockets as she stared around the large lobby and the many small goblins running about.

Hagrid approached an available goblin. "Morning," he greeted. "We're here ter take some money out of Miss Charlotte Potter's vault." He handed over a key and the goblin inspected it.

"Seems to be in order," he said. "Anything else?"

Hagrid nodded and handed over a letter. "Dumbledore would like the item in vault 713." He said in a whisper. The goblin read the letter and nodded once more.

"What's in vault 713?" Charlie asked curiously as a goblin named Griphook led them to her vault.

"Never you mind." Hagrid said sternly. "Important Hogwarts business."

It was then they approached an odd passage, with two track rails. Griphook whistled and a cart came roaring towards them. Charlie hesitantly climbed in after Hagrid and her stomach lurched when it took off. Her eyes were squeezed shut as they twisted and turned.

They finally came to a stop and she stumbled out. "Oh...I don't like that." She muttered woozily.

"I don' either." Hagrid agreed, rubbing his stomach. "Come on now, let's get yer money."

Charlie entered the vault and found herself speechless once more. Piles of gold, silver and bronze coins were everywhere! Finally she found her voice. "Um...what exactly is all this?"

"Well, the gold coins are Galleons, the silver ones are Sickles and the bronze coins are Knuts." Hagrid explained. He filled a small pouch with an assortment of coins and they climbed back into the cart. Charlie clung to the side as they whizzed to the next vault. Although she was curious, her stomach was twisting violently and she did not want to move. She did notice Hagrid put a small package in his pocket, though.

They travelled back to the lobby and Charlie stumbled outside, taking big gulps of fresh air. "I hate that thing!" She complained. "I nearly threw up my lungs!"

"That'd be a mess I'd hate teh clean up..." Hagrid remarked. Charlie rolled her eyes and followed Hagrid to a place called Madam Malkin's. "How 'bout yeh get yer school uniform? I'm feeling a bit queasy from those blasted carts."

Charlie nodded and entered the shop. A witch came to meet her with a smile. "Another Hogwarts student?"

Charlie nodded and the witch led her to a stool. She climbed on and Madam Malkin slipped a robe over her head and began adjusting the length, sticking in pins.

A girl about Charlie's age stood on the stool next her. She seemed to have a permanent sneer on her face and her nose was wrinkled. She had short black hair and narrow, beady eyes. "I suppose you're going to Hogwarts as well?" Her voice was shrill and annoying.

"Yes I am." _Be polite. No need to make an enemy for no particular reason-even if her voice grates on your nerves._

"What House do you suppose you'll be in?" She asked, surveying her critically.

"No clue." _What the heck does she mean by Houses?_

"I assume I'll be in Slytherin. All the Parkisons have been in Slytherin." She boasted. "It would be dreadful if I got into Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw wouldn't be so bad, I suppose."

_I really hope I don't get put into Slytherin...whatever that is._

"Are you a Quidditch player?" The Parkinson girl asked. "I'm not much of a player, but my friend is. He's rather upset that first years can't have brooms. I must agree that it is a stupid rule..."

Charlie just shrugged. _What the heck is Quidditch? Are we still speaking English here?_

"Look at that oaf!" She exclaimed suddenly. Charlie followed her gaze and stared at Hagrid, who was in the middle of purchasing two ice-cream bars.

A scowl crossed her face. "That's Hagrid," she said stiffly. "He's the gamekeeper at Hogwarts."

"The people they let on Hogwarts property nowadays." She scoffed. "Riff-raff like him and all those nasty little Muggleborns and blood traitors. Are you a pureblood?"

Charlie instantly decided she did not like this girl one bit. In fact, if asked if she would rather be trapped on a deserted island with either Dudley or this girl, she would choose Dudley. "My mother was a witch and my dad was a wizard, if that's what you mean."

"Where _are _your parents anyway? And what's your surname?"

Before Charlie could (reluctantly) respond, Madam Malkin finished and took of Charlie's robes. Charlie grabbed the package of her new uniform and said a hasty goodbye to the girl before hurrying out of the shop.

Hagrid handed her an ice cream and they walked towards Ollivanders. "Hagrid, I have two questions: what are Houses and what the heck is Quidditch?"

"Blimey, I forgot how much you don't know! Well, Hogwarts has four Houses that first year students are Sorted into; Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Your Houses become somet'ing like yer family during your seven years at Hogwarts. A lot of dark witches and wizards have come from Slytherin, and a lot say Hufflepuffs are just a bunch of wimps, but better than being a Slytherin."

Charlie nodded. She _really _hoped she didn't get sorted into Slytherin. "Okay, then what about Quidditch?"

"Gee, it's kinda hard ter explain Quidditch. It's a wizarding sport, and yeh fly on brooms. It's kind of like football...but not."

A snort escaped Charlie. "That clears so much up..." But she broke into giggles, and Hagrid grinned.

They arrived at Ollivanders, and the gray-haired man regarded her with interest. "So you're the famous Charlotte Potter..." He whispered.

"Please call me Charlie," she requested politely. "And yes, that would be me."

Soon she was trying wands-dozens and dozens of wands. She became frustrated, but Ollivander seemed to be having the time of his life. "Go on, go on, try this one!" She barely gave it a flick before he snatched it back. "No good, no good, now try this one."

Finally, she found one. Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches. The second she grabbed it, warmth spread through her fingers and when she flicked it, a shower of purple sparks exploded from the tip of her wand.

"How interesting..." Ollivander whispered, taking her wand and placing it gently in a box. Charlie furrowed her brow.

"What's interesting?" She asked.

"The wand chooses the wizard. It seems that its brother, the wand with one other phoenix tail feather that came from the same phoenix, belongs to the wizard that gave you that scar."

Charlie widened her green eyes. Ollivander continued on, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Yes, it was yew, thirteen and a half inches. I think we can expect great things from you Miss Potter."

She paid for her wand and left the shop, uncertain on whether or not she liked Ollivander.

...

Charlie entered the bookstore Flourish and Blotts and grinned at the hundreds of books lining the shelves. The titles were strange and some were bound in leather. But she always adored reading whenever she could.

She manoeuvred through the shelves while Hagrid waited outside for her. She gently stacked each book in her arms while mentally checking it off her list. Soon she stumbled towards the counter, arms laden with books as she strained to see overtop.

"Oof!"

She collided with someone and hit the ground. A multitude of books clattered to the hardwood floor around them as she rubbed her head and stared at the person she crashed into. "I'm really sorry. Are you okay?"

The girl had bushy brown hair and large front teeth. "Oh yes, I'm perfectly fine. Are you going to Hogwarts as well?" Charlie barely had time to nod before the girl hurried on. "I was so surprised when I got my letter. My parents aren't magic you see, but I was still terribly pleased. I spent the entire summer reading about magic and I got a few books early. They were so interesting I came back for more! I'm Hermione Granger; pleased to meet you!"

Hermione talked awfully fast and was rather excited, and Charlie shook her hand. "Well, hi! I'm Charlotte Potter, but you can call me Charlie."

"I've heard about you!" Hermione exclaimed. "You're the girl who defeated You-Know-Who when you were just an infant! Wow, how interesting! Do you know much magic?"

Charlie smiled. "Actually, I was Muggle-raised just like you. I don't know much about spells and that kind of stuff."

"I can't wait to learn." Hermione said happily as the two collected their books. "What house do you think you'll be in?"

Charlie found herself enjoying this girl's company, even if she was a bit talkative. "I'm not sure. Anything but Slytherin, really."

"Yes, that would be rather awful. Gryffindor would be nice, but Ravenclaw wouldn't be so bad either. Oh! I must be going, my parents are waiting outside. They're rather nervous, you see. Best not to take too long. See you on the Hogwarts Express!"

Charlie waved as Hermione ran outside. She paid for her books and met back up with Hagrid. "Yeh know, I haven't gotten yeh a birthday present yet..."

"Yes you did," she informed him. "You got me a wonderful birthday cake."

Hagrid waved a large hand at that. "I'll get yer animal. Not a toad; yeh'd be made fun of..."

Charlie tried to protest, but it did no good. Soon she was the happy owner of a fluffy white cat she named Snowflake-Snowy for short.

It had been the best day of her life. She got to go to an amazing new place, buy some really cool things, and she might have even made a friend.

Things were beginning to look up.


	4. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizard

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

The Dursleys spent the next while ignoring Charlie, which was how she preferred it. Dudley refused to be in the same room as her, and Vernon reluctantly agreed to drive her to King's Cross. Charlie was certain he was just happy to soon be rid of her.

But as she lugged her trunk across the station a thought occurred to her. The ticket Hagrid had given her read platform 9 and ¾. And she had a feeling that it wouldn't be easy to find.

"Where is it then?" Vernon demanded, thrusting Charlie's cat into her arms. "Where is this train?"

Charlie cast a glance at the plastic signs hanging over the platforms. There was a nine, and there was a ten, but nothing in between. "Um...I don't suppose you know where platform 9 and ¾ is?"

Vernon stared at her in disbelief for a moment before howling with laughter. Charlie scowled as her large uncle headed for the exit, chortling and laughing. "Thanks a lot!" She bellowed after him in annoyance.

With a heavy sigh she looked around. It would soon be eleven, and the last thing she wanted was to miss the train for her very first day of school. "I must look ridiculous," she muttered. "I'm lugging around a trunk and carrying a cat cage. And I'm _talking _to myself!"

That's when she noticed a group of red-haired children and their mother standing by the divide between the two platforms. What caught her eye was the owl cage one of the taller boys was carrying. She pulled her trunk along and watched intently as the older boy strode purposefully for the divide. _Is he mad? He's going to crash right into it!_

But he didn't. Charlie gaped as the boy simply disappeared through the divide. A pair of twins followed, and then the youngest boy charged through. "Of course Hagrid would fail to mention I had to walk _through _a divider to get to the train."

Nervously facing the barrier and casting a quick glance around, she took a deep breath and charged. As the barrier drew nearer she squeezed her eyes shut, ready to crash and look like an idiot.

Well, the last part happened. She made it through the barrier, but tripped and crashed into the youngest red head that went through a little bit before her. "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

Charlie scowled. "Sorry! I didn't mean to crash into you, you know." She shoved herself up and grabbed her trunk. Snowy was hissing in annoyance from her cat cage. Charlie lugged her trunk up to the scarlet steam engine and paused only for a moment to admire it.

"Charlie!" An eager voice called.

She turned and smiled when Hermione came running up to her. "Hey, Hermione."

"I've been looking for you! Aren't you excited? We better hurry, the train leaves soon and it would be just awful if we were left behind." Hermione pulled Charlie aboard the train and helped her hoist her trunk into the luggage rack above.

The two girls took their seats. "Aren't you going to change?" Hermione questioned.

Charlie glanced at her scruffy sneakers, oversize jeans that were held in place with a belt and a large grey t-shirt. Hermione was already in her Hogwarts robes. "Well...I suppose I could."

She removed her Hogwarts robes from her trunk and threw them over her Muggle clothes. She then let Snowy out of her cage. Her cat purred and rubbed against her hand. Hermione clapped her hands together. "Oh! You got a pet cat! I wanted to get an owl, but my parents couldn't really afford it with all the books I got, but perhaps next year."

"Have practiced any spells?" Charlie questioned.

"A few simple ones and they've all worked." Hermione said proudly. "And I've memorized all the books by heart! I can't wait to get started."

Charlie decided that there was a good chance that this girl would be sorted into Ravenclaw. She wasn't quite sure where she would go herself. Her grades were solid B's, but she knew she could do better. The Dursleys never liked it when she got better marks than Dudley, and she really hated being forced to skip dinner every report card day.

A chubby boy threw open the door to their compartment, eyes wide. "Have either of you seen a toad?" He asked anxiously. "I can't find Trevor anywhere!"

"We'll help you look for him." Hermione said kindly. "What's your name?"

"Neville Longbottom," he muttered. "Sorry to have bothered you."

"No bother at all." Hermione said cheerily. "I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Charlotte Potter."

"But you can call me Charlie." Charlie quickly put in. Neville widened his eyes and gaped at her.

"You-you're the Girl-Who-Lived?" He gasped. "Oh, wow!"

The poor seemed to have trouble speaking again and so Charlie stood up along with Hermione and offered to help search for his missing toad. She knocked on the compartment door that was next to hers and the door slowly slid open.

Charlie was slightly surprised at the boy who answered. He had the exact same hair colour as she did; except his eyes were a dark brown and he wore large spectacles. "Sorry to bother you, but have you seen a toad?"

He shook his head and stared out the window. Charlie decided that he wasn't being rude, he was just shy. "Thanks anyway."

Charlie tried the next compartment, and found herself staring into the blue eyes of the rude red head she crashed into. "Oh. Hello. I was wondering if you've seen a toad."

The redhead shook his head. "No, I haven't." He muttered. "And if you don't mind, I have quite the headache, thanks to you."

"Well, if you're going to be a prat, then I'll leave you be!" Charlie snapped. "But if you want to stop being a loner, than you might want to know that there's a shy boy in the next compartment. Who knows? Maybe he'll actually _like _you."

She slammed the compartment door shut on his rapidly red-turning face. Annoyed and exasperated and wondering what his problem was, she collapsed back into her compartment and rubbed her temples. _Oh yeah, this is getting off to a good start._

Hermione came back a few minutes later. "We looked everywhere," she sighed. "But we couldn't find his toad."

Soon a witch pushing the trolley rolled up and asked if they wanted anything. Charlie took an armful of things called Chocolate Frogs and paid the witch. "Would you like some?" She offered Hermione.

She shook her head. "Oh no thanks. My parents are dentists you see, and they don't approve of sugary snacks so early in the day."

Charlie happily ate her chocolate and glanced curiously at the cards that came with them. Hermione would launch into a biography on each witch and wizard that appeared on the card and Charlie was amazed on how much the girl knew.

Her good mood disappeared when a shrill laugh echoed throughout the corridor. "Oh...please no."

But it was. The compartment door slid open once more and there was the girl from Madam Malkin's. "So it is true! People had been talking about the famous Charlotte Potter being on board, but I had to see if it was true. We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Pansy Parkinson."

Charlie shook the girl's hand out of politeness. Her green eyes flickered to the pale blond beside her. "Oh, this is Draco Malfoy," Pansy introduced idly.

Draco smirked. "Look Pansy. It seems that Charlotte is already making the wrong friends."

"Well, she certainly can't know who the purebloods are." Pansy answered. "And she certainly doesn't know who the _Mudbloods _are."

Charlie had no idea what that name meant, but she had a feeling it was a terribly wizard insult. Pansy continued on. "If I were you, I'd be friends with people who can help you out. I'm sure Draco and I can be of assistance."

"I don't think so." Charlie said coldly. "I think Hermione is very nice, and I think _you _are a cow. So it's not a hard decision."

With that said, Charlie slammed the door in their bewildered and angry faces. Hermione gaped at her. "I don't know what a Mudblood is, but it seems really bad! Thank you for defending me, you didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to. Hey! It looks like Hogwarts is getting closer. Come on, let's get ready."

...

The two girls were told to leave their luggage on the train. Charlie and Hermione joined the flow of students exiting the train and she noticed that the redhead was walking silently alongside the shy boy. They caught each other's eye and both scowled before looking away.

Hermione was jumping with excitement. There was a cry of joy when Neville found his toad. Charlie noticed the large frame of Hagrid and grinned at him. He beamed back and bellowed, "Firs' years this way! Firs' years over here!"

"Do you know him?" Hermione whispered as they climbed towards the bank of boats.

"He's Hagrid. He's the gamekeeper at Hogwarts." Charlie explained. The two climbed into a boat, and Charlie was dismayed when the redhead and the shy kid climbed in as well.

"I am not a prat!" Ron snapped angrily. He was still sore about that comment...

"You were the one that was rude when I ran into you and I apologized." Charlie snapped. "I don't know what your problem is."

"Of course you wouldn't," he said sourly. "You're the Girl-Who-Lived, aren't you? You probably have everything you've ever wanted."

"You mean besides parents?" Charlie asked coldly.

"Well, it's not like you knew them." Was the insensitive reply.

Hermione gasped and even the shy boy paled a bit. Charlie would admit she had a bit of a temper, but she rarely let it out. By this kid was really getting on her nerves, and that was the last straw. She tackled the redhead and the two accidently fell out of the boat and into the lake.

They were immediately lugged back in by Hermione and the shy kid. Ron coughed and spluttered and shoved his wet hair back. "You're mad!" He exclaimed. "What the bloody 'ell was that for?"

"For being a jerk!" Charlie snapped.

The two sat in a stony silence until they reached the castle. Hagrid walked up to the large door and knocked three times.

A stern-looking witch with black hair tied up in a bun answered. She motioned them inside. The first years formed a line outside another door. "Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few minutes, you'll all be Sorted into one of the four Houses; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. These Houses will become something like your family for the next seven years."

Her dark eyes roamed over each of them. "Now I suggest you-"She froze when she came upon a dripping wet Weasley and Potter. "What happened?"

"We fell out," both muttered.

Minerva McGonagall frowned, but said nothing as she cast a quick drying charm. "I will come for you in a moment. I suggest you clean yourselves up a bit before entering the Great Hall."

Hermione started mumbling all the spells she learned under her breath. Charlie sighed and pushed her long black hair over her shoulders and watched in amazement as ghosts started flying through the walls.

"Whoa..." she whispered. This place had everything!

The doors to the Great Hall opened and Minerva gestured for them to enter. Charlie stared at the floating candles and at the bewitched ceiling, which showed twinkling stars. Hundreds of students were already sitting at long tables, chatting and laughing.

A stool was set up at the very front, along with an old frayed hat. After the hat sang a little song, the stern witch was holding a long scroll of parchment, and one by one she called their names.

"Granger, Hermione!"

She bounded forward eagerly and jammed the hat on her head. After a while, the hat screamed **"Ravenclaw!"**

Hermione smiled brightly and sat down at the Ravenclaw table, which was applauding loudly. Longbottom made it into Gryffindor. Next up was the shy kid, who turned out to be "Lupin, Harry!"

Harry Lupin sat down nervously on the stool. The Hat deliberated for a couple of moments before shouting **"Hufflepuff!"**

Harry burned red at having the attention on him and hurried to the Hufflepuff table. Charlie rolled her eyes when Pansy and Draco both made it into Slytherin. No surprise there...

Then it was her turn. "Potter, Charlotte!"

People stopped chatting immediately and turned to get glances of the Girl-Who-Lived. Whispers spread like wild fire.

She strode up to the stool and sat down. She slipped the hat on her head.

'_So, you must be the famous Charlotte Potter. My, my, where to put you?'_

'Anywhere but Slytherin.'

'_Hmm...you certainly have the cunningness for Slytherin. No? Fair enough. You're very brave, but you also think instead of rushing into situations. Are you sure you don't want Slytherin?'_

'Absolutely not.'

'_Very well. Let it be _**Ravenclaw!**_'_

Howling cheers came from the Ravenclaw table and Hermione hugged her happily. "This is brilliant!"

Charlie grinned. Indeed it was.

**I've always loved the Ravenclaw House. As for Harry Lupin, well...you'll find out.**


	5. Foul Potions and Quidditch

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Foul Potions and Quidditch**

Filius Flitwick was not one to be speechless or be caught off guard so easily. Years as an accomplished duellist had taught him to always be prepared for the unexpected. But he sat completely still at the High Table, extremely close to toppling off his pile of cushions in shock.

"Congratulations Filius," Minerva McGonagall muttered grudgingly, slightly deflated at not having the famous Charlotte Potter in her House. "If not Gryffindor, then I am glad it's Ravenclaw."

"Excuse me!" Pomona Sprout exclaimed indignantly. "What about Hufflepuff?"

This caused many of her colleagues to raise their eyebrows and give pointed looks at the squat witch. The Herbology professor and Hufflepuff Head scowled and turned back to her plate, mumbling under her breath.

"Don't worry Minerva; at least you have a Weasley." Severus Snape said silkily with a smirk on his face. "And I know how _important _it is for you to keep up the Weasley tradition. There's never an end to them, is there?"

Minerva slapped Severus in the arm and sighed in annoyance. "For heaven's sake Filius! Stop gaping at her like she's some sort of animal on display!"

...

Charlie rolled her green eyes when Ronald Weasley was Sorted into Gryffindor. "He certainly does do things without thinking."

She picked idly at her plate, conscious that many students were shooting occasional glances in her direction. "Is it just me, or is that short professor with the silver hair staring at me?" She whispered to Hermione, feeling slightly uneasy at being gaped at by one of her teachers.

"That's our Head of House," a girl named Penelope Clearwater informed. "I assume he's just shocked that you were Sorted into Ravenclaw. A lot of people were certain you'd make it into Gryffindor."

"Really?" Charlie asked in surprise. _I wonder how many bets were placed on where I'd get Sorted..._

"Of course! You are the Girl-Who-Lived, after all. People immediately assumed you'd be very brave." Penelope said matter-of-factly. "Which you probably are, but it doesn't hurt to have brains as well."

After stuffing herself with potatoes, roast beef and rivers of gravy, an old wizard with a long beard stood up and everyone immediately went silent. Charlie recognized him from her Chocolate Frog card. "A new year has begun! To the first years welcome to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am your Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. Just a few notices; the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to _all _students-"Here he cast a glance at a pair of redheaded twins, "and there is no magic allowed in the corridors. Finally, the **third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds for everyone that does not wish to die a very painful death**."

A few people laughed, but Charlie was too busy trying to decide if he was serious or not. _First mental note of the year; stay away from the third floor corridor. I do wish to live, thank you._

"I wonder why the third-floor corridor is off limits." Hermione whispered with a curious expression on her face.

Penelope shrugged. "I suppose Dumbledore has his reasons."

To end the night on a happy note the entire school sang the Hogwarts school song. Charlie could only manage to choke out a few words, as it was rather hilarious and she didn't want to be rude and laugh hysterically.

"All right first years!" Penelope called over the bustle of the crowd. "Follow me to the Common Room! That's it, stay together now!"

Charlie followed her fellow Ravenclaws through the twisting corridors of Hogwarts. Penelope warned them about the stairs and said they liked to move often. Hermione was giddy with excitement as they neared the Common Room.

"So these are the new Ravenclaws?" A soft voice spoke curiously. Charlie looked up in surprise to see a pale ghost studying them intently. Her eyes fell on Charlie and they held their gaze for a moment before the ghost nodded and flew away.

"That's the Grey Lady," Penelope informed them. "She's the Ravenclaw ghost, and don't ask her how she died, I strongly advise against it."

Then they approached a brass door knocker in the shape of an eagle. It came as a surprise to Charlie when it spoke.

_What is broken every time it's spoken?_

Penelope placed her hands on her hips and faced the first years. "Alright, let's see what you've got. Come now, don't be shy. You've been Sorted into Ravenclaw for a reason."

Hermione shot her hand in the air and waved it about eagerly. Charlie mulled it over and snapped her fingers when she got the answer.

_I think I'll let Hermione take this one._

"It's silence!" Hermione said proudly. "Once you've spoken, you've broken the silence!"

"Great job," the Prefect praised. The eagle agreed and the door swung open.

"Whoa..." Charlie whispered as she climbed the tight spiral staircase and entered the Common Room. The room was wide and circular, with bookcases, tables and chairs covering the expanse of the floor. The windows were arched gracefully and the walls were hung with blue and bronze silks. The domed ceiling was painted with stairs, as well as the midnight blue carpet.

"Who's that?" Charlie whispered and gestured towards the white marble statue of the woman standing next to the entrance to the Common Room.

"Rowena Ravenclaw," she answered promptly. "She's the founder of the Ravenclaw house."

"Wonderful job Miss Clearwater!" A squeaky voice said.

Penelope blushed. "Thank you, Professor. I'll just leave the first years with you then, shall I?"

The upper year students went into their dorms, leaving a small wizard with a shock of white hair to beam at them. "I am Professor Flitwick, you're Head of House. Now I just want to say what I expect of you for the next seven years. I don't tolerate any bullying, and there will be no wandering about after curfew. I expect you all to appear for meals in the Great Hall at least twice a day. Since you are Ravenclaws I expect all homework to be completed, unless there is a good reason for incompletion. You're schedules are in your new dorms, and if you have any questions my door is always open.

"Tomorrow will be a busy day for you all, so off to bed with you."

The first years said goodnight to their Head of House and trooped off to their new dorms. Hermione and Charlie immediately claimed beds next to each other and Charlie grinned. Her bedspread was a dark blue and the hangings surrounding her bed were bronze.

Snowy purred in greeting and wound herself around Charlie's ankles before jumping up and settling at the foot of her new bed.

"Isn't this brilliant?" Hermione asked happily.

_An actual bed, a real friend, and a pretty cool Head of House so far...yes, it is indeed brilliant._

...

"Charlie! Wake up! It's time for breakfast!"

Charlie moaned and sat up, squinting against the sunlight that poured through the window. "Hermione? What time is it?"

"Breakfast time," she answered. "And we can't be late for class on our first day!"

Charlie stumbled out of bed and hurriedly slipped on her school robes and ran a brush through her long black hair. She gathered up her book bag and hurried after Hermione to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Mornings had never been her favourite, and so she allowed herself a few minutes to nap at the Ravenclaw table while everyone else ate. Although she was very skinny for her age, being banned from meals at least three times a week at the Dursleys allowed her to adjust to eating less and still feeling full.

Their first class that morning was Herbology with a dumpy witch called Professor Sprout. She lectured them on the dangerous plants like Devil's Snare and taught them how to repel it. Their first piece of homework was to write an essay on the origins of the Devil's Snare and where it's commonly found.

The Ravenclaws had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, and Charlie noted that Harry Lupin was standing off by himself, taking notes and trying to appear invisible. _Poor guy, _Charlie thought. She didn't know why Lupin was so shy, but she decided to try and befriend him.

The bell chimed and Charlie hurried after Harry as he basically sprinted from Greenhouse One. "Hey! Harry! Wait up!"

He reluctantly slowed down as she and Hermione caught up. "How do you like being in Hufflepuff?" Charlie asked cheerily as they crossed the grounds.

Harry sighed. "It's alright, I guess. Uncle Remus was really hoping I'd get into Gryffindor...but I'm just not brave enough."

"But in order to get into Hufflepuff, you have to be really loyal." Hermione pointed out. "That's just as important!"

"And better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," Charlie said with a grimace. "I already know two slimy snakes that I'd like to curse."

Harry smiled slightly at that. "That is true..."

Hermione looked at her wrist watch and looked pointedly at Charlie. Charlie waved her on and said, "I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Charlotte Potter, but you can call me Charlie."

Harry nervously accepted her outstretched hand. "I'm Harry Lupin. Nice to meet you."

"And it's very nice to meet you," she said genuinely. "I better go catch up with Hermione, but I'll see around, okay?"

She waved to Harry and took off for the castle silently congratulating herself. Harry was indeed shy and nervous, but Charlie would get him out of his shell in due time.

Right now, she really had to get to History of Magic.

...

Charlie liked History, it was an interesting subject. But when it was taught by a ghost that droned on and on, it immediately lulled you to sleep.

The worst part was that they had History of Magic with Slytherins. It was bad enough trying to concentrate and stay awake, but when you had Draco and Pansy throwing pieces of parchment at her head, it got a little irritating.

And Professor Binns was oblivious to everything that happened around him!

"What do we have next?" Charlie hissed to Hermione, who was diligently taking notes.

"Potions," she replied without looking up from her parchment.

Another parchment whacked her in the head. _If I have Potions with these two idiots, I am going to be _very _upset._

...

"Kill me now..." Charlie muttered under her breath as she slouched in her seat. Of course the other Potions class had to be full. Of course Draco and Pansy had to be put in _her _Potions period with the other Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.

_I'm the Girl-Who-Lived. Perhaps I can order Pansy and Draco to be fed to the Giant Squid...no, that won't do well for my image._

The dungeon door slammed shut, and a man with sallow skin and greasy black hair swept to the front of the room. He studied them all for a second before his beady black eyes landed on her green ones.

_Ouch!_

A sharp tingle went through the scar on her forehead and Charlie forced herself not to react. A sneer curled across the man's face. "Ah...so the famous Charlotte Potter has arrived."

Charlie wished she could say something snarky back, but she had no idea who this guy was. She waited until he started taking roll call before leaning over to Hermione and whispering, "Who's he?"

"He's Professor Snape! Head of Slytherin! Honestly, weren't you listening to their introductions at the feast?"

"Potter!" Snape snapped. "I didn't realize this was social class. Three points from Ravenclaw for being disrespectful."

_Okay, I think this guy doesn't like me._

"I don't expect to appreciate the art of potions." Snape said in a low voice as he stared them all down. "I don't expect to understand the beauty of a shimmering fire beneath your cauldrons. I do expect you to respect me, obey me, and follow every-single-rule."

He flicked his wand and the Potion instructions appeared on the blackboard. Without any advice he said, "Begin."

Hermione got right to work, and Charlie soon realized that she was good at laying out the ingredients while Hermione did the actually concocting.

"Making Miss Granger do all the work, eh Potter?" Snape asked as he suddenly appeared behind them. "I bet you're used to everyone rushing to do your every whim."

"Oh no sir! Charlie is helping cut up the-"

"Don't make excuses for her Miss Granger," he interrupted, glaring at the flustered witch. "That'll be two points for lying, and five points from Potter for doing nothing."

"That's not fair!" Charlotte snapped. "I've been doing pretty good so far considering I've just discovered magic a week ago! And you didn't even tell us _how _to approach this! And do I _look _like someone who's been waited on hand and foot? I think not!"

"Another five points from Ravenclaw for talking back!" Snape snapped.

Hermione kicked Charlie when she opened her mouth to say something back. Draco and Pansy snickered behind their hands.

"Lousy jerk," she muttered under her breath, harshly slapping a handful of porcupine quills by Hermione's elbow. "What's his problem? I've never done anything to the guy!"

There was a loud popping sound and soon the classroom was splattered with a green mixture. Everyone shrieked and climbed onto their stools to avoid getting touched by the foul smelling liquid.

"Idiot!" Snape snapped and waved his wand. Harry quaked in his sneakers as the Potions professor glared down at him. "Can you not read? Didn't the instructions specifically say to take the cauldron _off _the fire before adding the porcupine quills?"

Harry whimpered as boils sprouted all over his face and hands. Draco and Pansy were laughing hysterically now. "Shut up you prats!" Charlie snapped at them before turning to glare at Snape. "It was an accident! Maybe if you had actually _read _the instructions to us, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Silence, insolent child! _Lupin_-"The name was hissed with venom. "Miss Granger, help to the infirmary. Potter, you have detention with me this evening. Maybe some hard labour will deflate that big head of yours."

Charlie's right eye twitched, but she stayed silent.

...

"Unbelievable!" She exploded as she stormed down the corridor. "You stand up for people, and you get detention."

Charlie immediately knew that she and Snape would not be getting along. For some reason, he didn't like her, and she didn't like him. "It is gonna be a long seven years..."

She visited Harry in the infirmary before Madame Pomfrey shooed her out. Harry was still a bit shaken, but he managed to stutter out that he would be out by tomorrow.

"You should know better," Hermione scolded the second she sat down at the Ravenclaw table. "You _never _talk back to a teacher!"

Charlie just shrugged and piled some sandwiches on her plate. Just as she was beginning to eat, Ron stood up and made to leave along with his two House-mates. As he walked past her, he whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "Thanks for giving us a boost for the House Cup, _Charlotte._"

Now, Charlie knew she could get temperamental. She had a hold on her anger and rarely let it get the best of her. But the past week had stressed her out, and the redheaded jerk finally made her snap. Next thing she knew, Ron was covered in gravy and he was trying to slam a bowlful of salad over her head.

A loud popping sound filled the hall and the two stopped; Ron dripping gravy and Charlie wiping salad dressing off her face. McGonagall was shouting something at them, but Charlie didn't hear a word she said. All she could think was, _Some Ravenclaw I am. Starting a food fight right in front of the High Table. Genius, Potter. _

...

Her detention with Snape was hard and long; he made her scrub every desk and then polish every cauldron. She couldn't feel her knuckles after that and Hermione gave her a good verbal chastise.

Ron had been sent a Howler at breakfast the next morning and Charlie couldn't muster up any amusement. Not when she and Ron were due to organize the library that evening. Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were rather surprised. There hadn't been a rivalry between their Houses for a long time.

"You may not have to like each other," McGonagall had snapped at them after she dragged both of them out of the Great Hall with Flitwick scurrying after them. "But you _will _learn to be civil."

And so here she was, scowling and wondering if any of these people knew their alphabet. Ron was a few shelves away, glowering at her.

Madame Pinch had threatened them with expulsion if any of her precious books got damaged. Charlie decided that the woman wasn't exaggerating, or joking.

"So..." Charlie muttered, deciding to offer an olive branch to the silent redhead. "Five brothers and one sister, huh?"

"Second youngest," he mumbled back. "Nothing I own is new. But you probably don't have that problem, do you?"

It was then Charlie realized that Ron was jealous of her. He probably had false impressions of her childhood; growing up as an only child loved and dotted on.

_Ha! I'm gonna die of laughter!_

"You know," she finally said after shelving the last book in her pile. "I didn't even know I was a witch until a week before school started. I had to wear old hand-me-down clothes from my spoiled cousin for all of my life. I think I can honestly say that no life is perfect. But remember this; at least you still have your parents. I never got to know mine."

With that said, she grabbed her book bag and left.

...

"They can't be serious," Charlie said warily, staring at the broomsticks lying on the grassy ground. "They really want us to _fly _on these things?"

Hermione blinked at her. "Of course!" She exclaimed. "I've read as much as I could on the subject on flying, but I'm not sure if it'll help."

"I'm sure it will." Charlie assured her. Over the past month, the two had become practically inseparable. They studied together, walked to classes together, and ate together and always sat next to each other during classes.

"Alright, line up and pick a broom!" Madame Hooch called and watched them with her hawk-like eyes. "Stick out your right hand and say, UP!"

Charlie was surprised when her broom shot into her open hand and grinned. It took everyone else a few more minutes, and Hermione beamed when her broom obeyed her on the third try.

"Now, I want you to mount your brooms and-"Hooch was interrupted as a sixth-year Hufflepuff sprinted towards them, panting and huffing.

"Sorry to intrude," she gasped. "But Professor McGonagall sent me to tell you that Peeves managed to acquire your wand."

Hooch furrowed her brows in confusion. "But how is that possible? I have it right-"She reached for her robe pocket and felt around. When she realized that her wand was no longer in her possession, an angry scowl crossed her face. "That lousy poltergeist!" She cried in fury. "I've had it up to here! When I get my hands on him-don't even _think _about mounting them," she ordered. "If you even fly a few inches, you'll be out faster than I you can say Quidditch!"

Everyone watched their Flying instructor sprint across the grounds and back for the castle. The Slytherins they were (unfortunately) paired with snickered. Pansy strutted across the grass and bent down to pick something up. "Ugh! Who would own such a piece of junk?" She sneered, holding up a rather battered up watch.

"Hey!" Cho Chang, another Ravenclaw, cried out. "My dad gave me that! Give it back!"

Pansy laughed. "I'm doing you a favour, Chang." She tossed it to Draco, who mounted his broom and took off in the air when Cho ran towards him. "Only riff-raff wear garbage like that."

Noticing that Cho looked ready to cry, Charlie scowled and glared up at Draco. Hermione noticed this and hissed, "Please don't do what I think you're going to do!"

Charlie just smirked at her before mounting her own broom and taking off in the air. Draco sneered at her. "Trying to play hero again Potter?" He asked, dangling the watch between two fingers.

"You're not so tough up here without backup, are you?" Charlie retorted. "And let's face it; Pansy is pretty horrible with her aim when it comes to firing curses and hexes."

Draco paled slightly, but he refused to give in. "If you want this lousy thing so much, then go fetch it like the mutt you are!"

He reared back and chucked the watch in the air. It sailed straight for the Black Lake-and the Giant Squid.

Charlie quickly decided that she could not allow the watch to disappear in the depths of the lake. It belonged to Cho, a gift from her father.

She hurtled for the ground, eyes set in determination. The watch glinted in the sun and she reached her fingers out for it. The water was coming up rapidly and if she didn't time it right, she would end up in the grasp of the Giant Squid.

She grabbed the watch and her knuckles brushed the water surface. Tentacles shot upwards and thrashed about and Charlie hastily twisted and turned to avoid the irate Squid. She shot back up to the sky and grinned triumphantly.

_This flying stuff isn't so bad!_

Cheers erupted from the Ravenclaws as she landed. Cho hugged her happily and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. Draco and Pansy glared at her.

"Miss Potter!"

Charlie froze at the squeaky voice. "Oh dear..."

"Come with me this instant!" Flitwick called from the castle doors, frowning sternly at her.

Charlie moaned and shuffled towards him, leaving behind a snickering Pansy and Draco.

...

Filius was so excited he practically ran down the corridors. He nearly had a heart attack when he witnessed the Girl-Who-Lived diving for the lake, and his jaw almost fell off when she pulled out of the dive and avoided the tentacles of the Giant Squid with the expertise of a Quidditch player.

Not only that, but she had caught the object she had been hurtling after!

Severus would be most displeased when he found out what he was planning on doing. But really, how could he let such a talent go?

"Professor McGonagall, may I please borrow Miss Ezra for a moment?"

Minerva paused in her demonstration and arched an eyebrow. She nodded and a girl with short, spiky black hair and wide purple eyes curiously got up and entered the corridor. "Yes Professor?" She asked, eyeing Charlie with interest.

"I think I've found you a new seeker." Flitwick informed with a smile.

A wide grin crossed her face. "Are you serious?" She squealed. "Brilliant! So we totally won't have to forfeit the first match of the season!"

"Indeed." Filius said in amusement. "Miss Potter, this is Scarlett Ezra; captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team."

Scarlett eagerly shook her hand. "This is amazing! I thought I'd never find a new seeker, but here you are!"

Charlie was to stunned to say anything. _I'm not being punished; I'm being recruited into Quidditch?_

"I can't wait," she finally managed to get out and grinned.

Filius beamed. "Excellent! Miss Ezra will teach you the rules this evening, after supper. Now I better get back to my class. Fifth year Gryffindors can supervise themselves, but you can't be too careful with them."

He hurried off and Scarlett beamed. "This is going to be the best season ever!"

_Hermione is never going to believe this..._


	6. Meeting Fluffy

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Meeting Fluffy**

"Professor Flitwick actually put you _on _the Quidditch team?" Hermione exclaimed. "But there hasn't been a first year on a Hogwarts team in a century!"

Charlie arched an eyebrow. "Well, I'm just glad I didn't get expelled. I'm supposed to meet Scarlett on the Quidditch pitch tonight after dinner."

"Can I come and watch?" Hermione questioned. "I've read about Quidditch and I would love to see you in action. I'm sure you're brilliant!"

"I'm sure Scarlett won't mind." Charlie answered. The two were sitting in the squashy armchairs by the bookcases and doing their homework. "I can't wait to see Parkinson's face...and I bet Malfoy is going to be super jealous."

"Don't start anything," Hermione warned. "You already have a rivalry with that Gryffindor boy. Having _two _rivalries in the Slytherin House is bad enough. You don't need to instigate anything."

"Ron doesn't like me because he's jealous." Charlie corrected. "Those other two simply hate me. Although Ron is going to be disappointed...every time I see him he's carting around a Quidditch magazine and he wears a Chudley Canons badge. Um...are they good?"

Hermione shrugged. "They're alright, I suppose. Mind you, I've never seen a Quidditch match before."

A large barn owl flew into the room and Hermione dropped her quill in surprise. Ink splattered over her Potions essay and she moaned in annoyance. Charlie giggled and took the note that the owl held out to her. The owl ruffled its feathers and flew off. Snowy crouched down and went to leap at before Charlie ordered her to stay down.

"Silly cat," she muttered and unfolded the note. "Hagrid wants me to come down for tea tomorrow after morning classes." She glanced at Hermione. "Would you like to come?"

"I'd love too." Hermione beamed. "Hagrid seems like a very nice man."

"He is." Charlie said with a fond smile.

...

Charlie had been heading towards the front entrance when she heard her name being shouted. "POTTER!"

She turned around and narrowed her green eyes as Draco and Pansy marched up to her. "What do you want?"

"How come you're not expelled?" Pansy demanded. "And I heard Flint talking about how Dumbledore allowed you to be on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Is this true?"

"It is," she confirmed with a smirk. "You can't get rid of me that easy."

Draco glared at her. "I bet you wouldn't be so smart in a wizards duel!"

A smirk found its way across Pansy's hard face. "You're right Draco. I bet the great Girl-Who-Lived would beg for mercy before the duel even began."

Charlie quickly deduced that a wizards duel was exactly that; two wizards using their magic to fight. Now, she was positive she had the least amount of experience. But she hated backing down, and although she did have brains, she was also stubborn. So she would have to be careful and pick the spot.

"Alright," she agreed. "How about we duel by the third corridor? It's forbidden after all, and I don't think we'll get caught."

"Pansy will be my second." Draco announced, slinging an arm around Pansy's shoulders. "Who's yours?"

Charlie froze, and struggled to think. What the heck was a 'second'? Her green eyes caught Harry shuffling down the corridor with his head down, clutching his books to his chest. "Harry's my second!"

Harry stumbled to a stop and stared at her with wide brown eyes. Charlie ignored the howling laughter coming from the two Slytherins and grabbed Harry by the elbow and dragged him off. When they were out of earshot, she asked, "What's a second?"

The poor boy was nearly quaking. "Please tell me you're referring to the seconds on a clock."

"Er...no. I'm referring to a second in a wizard's duel."

Harry moaned and nearly collapsed. It was only Charlie holding on to his elbow that made him stay upright. "It means if you get killed in the duel, _I _take your place."

Charlie blinked. "Oops."

"I'm pants at magic!" Harry cried, panic flashing through his eyes. "I can't take on Malfoy! Plus Uncle Remus would kill me if he ever found out-"

"But he won't." Charlie soothed. "Tell you what; meet me by my Common Room three minutes after curfew. After the duel is over I'll escort you back to Hufflepuff and all will be over."

"Easier said than done." Harry whimpered. But he nodded nonetheless and slouched off.

Charlie let out a long sigh. "Some Ravenclaw I'm turning out to be..."

...

"You're going to do _what_?" Hermione shrieked as they trooped towards the Quidditch pitch after dinner that night.

"You heard me."

Hermione put her hand to her forehead and moaned much like Harry had done. "You can't! You and Harry are going to get in so much trouble! I'll tell on you!"

"Hermione, do you want me kicked off the Quidditch team before I've not started?" Charlie pleaded. "I promise that I won't do anything stupid like this again!"

"I'm coming with you."

Charlie tripped on her robes and stumbled a bit. When she righted herself she choked out, "What?"

"You heard me. I'm coming with you so you don't get you or Harry killed. I'm sure I know enough spells to run interference if things get out of hand. Then I'll go and collect a teacher." Hermione said firmly.

The bushy haired girl went straight to the stands and Charlie groaned. Now she had two other students to lug around after curfew...

_Well, that's your own fault._

Turning her scowl into an attempt at a smile Charlie approached Scarlett in the middle of the pitch. The black-haired girl was glancing quizzically at Hermione, who was flipping through her Charms textbook with great speed.

"That's Hermione," Charlie filled in. "I hope its okay that she stays and watches."

"She's a Ravenclaw?"

"Yes."

"Then I have no problem," Scarlett grinned. "All right, so here's how the game works." She gestured towards two sets of three hoops on either end of the pitch. "Those are the goals; the Keeper is the one that protects all three hoops."

Charlie nodded. Scarlett bent down and flipped open the lid of the battered brown case that rested on the grass. "The red ball is called a Quaffle. The Chasers use the Quaffle to score points in the goals. If it was a match of Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin, we would have to try and keep the Quaffle away from the Slytherins and score on the Slytherin goals." Scarlett explained. "There are three Chasers."

_Three Chasers-they handle the Quaffle. Keeper guards their team's goal posts. _Charlie recited in her head.

Scarlett gestured towards the two quivering black balls that were strapped down. "These are the ones you have to look out for. These are Bludgers. There are two Beaters on a team. The Beaters protect their teammates from the Bludgers and whack them towards the opposing teammates."

"Is that safe?" Charlie asked, slightly uneasy.

"Um...well, no one's gotten killed, if that's what you mean. But you will get a nasty headache if one of these smacks you in the skull. So just be on the lookout, alright?" Scarlett reached down and plucked a golden ball from the smallest hole. "This is what you need to focus on. This is the Golden Snitch. The Seeker's job is to capture it. The game only ends when the Snitch it caught."

Charlie ran through all the information she had just learned. "Got it."

Scarlett beamed. "Awesome! I was thinking that you could meet the team tomorrow after dinner. Flitwick already booked us the field. Does that work for you?"

Charlie agreed, but as she and a silent Hermione walked back towards the castle, she could not help but wonder if she would still be alive tomorrow.

...

"This is ridiculous," Hermione hissed as they tiptoed out of their dorm and into the Common Room. "This is idiocy!"

Charlie cast an exasperated glance at the domed ceiling. "You don't _have _to come!"

Hermione ignored her and continued her whispered rant. Charlie rubbed a hand down her face and hurried down the stairwell. She and Hermione exited the Common Room and spotted Harry crouching behind a statue, his face pale.

"Y'all ready for this?" Charlie asked, trying to keep the mood spirited. She got a terrified expression and a scorching glare in return. "Aw, I already said sorry!" She complained.

Hermione kept tight-lipped as they snuck towards the forbidden corridor. Her nerves were frazzled and she was beginning to wish she had just stayed in the Common Room. Harry was trembling so badly he could hardly walk straight.

Charlie paused in the middle of the forbidden corridor and stared curious at the wooden door that was firmly shut. "I suppose this is what they want us to stay away from."

Hermione could not help but be curious. "But why would they keep something supposedly dangerous in a school anyway?"

The darkness surrounded them as they waited in tense silence. After fifteen minutes it became obvious that they had been duped. Hermione glowered at Charlie, who was feeling irritated and humiliated. "Oh yes. I am the ideal Ravenclaw..."

Even Harry couldn't help but snort. "C-can we g-go now?" He stammered nervously, casting an uneasy glance around.

Suddenly a bright dot of light illuminated the three of them, and they let shrieks of surprise. Someone hastily shushed them and the light glided to the side to reveal the pale face of Ronald Weasley.

"What are you doing?" Charlie hissed with one hand placed over her pounding heart.

"My stupid brothers forgot to tell me the new password!" He hissed back. "So I figured I would take a walk and I ended up here."

"You were going to sneak inside!" Hermione accused. "You don't know what's in there! You might be killed!"

"Like my family would even notice," he muttered bitterly. "But what are _you _lot doing here?"

Harry pointed an accusing finger at Charlie and wailed, "She made me come!"

"I didn't make anyone do anything!" She shrieked. "I accepted the stupid wizard's duel with Malfoy and Pansy, and I chose Harry to be my second before I knew what a second was. Then Hermione insisted she come along just in case and I'VE BEEN DUPED!"

The last part was hollered in frustration and all four kids froze when they heard a soft hissing sound coming from down the corridor before it disappeared.

"Mrs. Norris!" They whispered in horror. They could practically hear the nasty caretaker puffing along the corridors and secret entrances to find them.

Charlie looked around frantically before realizing that the only place they could really go was into the forbidden third corridor. If they ran straight down the corridor, they would be caught. "In here!"

"Are you mad?" Harry squeaked. Charlie tried the doorknob and scowled when she discovered it locked.

Hermione snapped, "Of course they would leave the forbidden third corridor door unlocked. Why on earth would they lock it?"

Not appreciating her sarcasm, Charlie moved aside and allowed Hermione to whisper a spell. She flung the door open and all four tumbled in. Ron shut the door firmly just as Filch came huffing up the corridor.

"Where are they?" They could hear Filch pant. "Where did those little brats go?"

The four stayed silent. They could hear Filch approach the door and the doorknob jiggled. Harry stumbled back and clapped his hands over his mouth to hold down a whimper. Suddenly a loud crashing sound echoed throughout the castle and Filch roared, "PEEVES!" before running off with Mrs. Norris slinking behind him.

"Thank you Peeves." Charlie said breathlessly, leaning against the door for support. Hermione and Ron breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Harry stood rooted to the spot, brown eyes wide behind his thick glasses. His mouth opened in a soundless scream and he jabbed frantically at Ron. The redhead turned around in annoyance and his words died on his tongue.

A large, three-headed dog was staring down at them in surprise. Their fangs glistened with saliva and a slow growl emitted from their throats.

"RUN!" Ron bellowed, and Hermione and Charlie caught a glimpse of the monster before shrieking and charging out after Ron, dragging a frozen Harry behind them. Hermione hastily locked the door before following her best friend.

Ron broke off at one point and sprinted to Gryffindor Tower. Keeping true to her word Charlie lugged Harry to the Hufflepuff entrance and the stunned boy managed to clamber inside. The two Ravenclaw girls hurried for their tower and stumbled into the Common Room. The room was dark, except the sparkling silver stars cast a glow around them.

Hermione collapsed into a chair and moaned. "Did you see that thing?"

Charlie shuddered. "Why would they keep something like that in the school? At least we know why the third floor corridor is forbidden..."

"Did you not see what it was standing on?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"I was busy fearing for my life...but I'm going to venture a guess and say a trap door?"

"Exactly! That dog is guarding something...but I wonder what?"

...

The two girls discovered that Harry had been sent to the infirmary for a Calming Drought the next morning. The poor thing had been found whimpering and rocking back and forth in his bed sheets in the early hours of the morning. Poppy assumed it was nothing more than a bad nightmare.

Charlie felt incredibly guilty and apologized insistently until Pomfrey kicked her out. Ron was keeping to himself, a quizzical look on his face. He seemed just as troubled as Hermione and Charlie were.

The two girls made their way down to Hagrid's hut for tea. A large black boarhound bounded up to them when they stepped into the cozy hut and pounced. Hermione giggled when the dog licked her face happily.

"Down Fang!" Hagrid ordered, pulling Fang back and ushering his two guests to the table. Fang squirmed out of his grasp and settled immediately by Charlie's feet.

Charlie smiled. "Hagrid, this is my friend Hermione Granger."

"It's very nice to meet you." Hermione said politely. She shook Hagrid's large hand and sat down. The three talked about different things; their classes, their Housemates and Quidditch. Charlie was happy to find out that her father had been an excellent Quidditch player.

Hermione blushed when Hagrid told her that the staff considered her to be the brightest witch of her age. Her eyes ducked down modestly and she caught sight of a wizard's newspaper. Curiously she picked it up and read the front page. Her eyes widened and she quickly glanced up. Hagrid was making another pot of tea.

"Charlie!" She hissed, waving the paper in her face.

Charlie frowned and read the front page. Her brow furrowed. "Hey...that's the vault Hagrid took the mysterious package from."

"And Gringotts is nearly impossible to break into!" Hermione said excitedly. "Whoever broke in really wanted this! And if Hagrid took it from that vault..."

Charlie mulled it over before a grin split across her face. "Then that means it's here in Hogwarts! Being guarded by that monster dog!"

Now all they had to do was find out why the item was so important that it needed to be watched by a three-headed dog.

**So next chapter will be Halloween and the Quidditch match. **


	7. Halloween at Hogwarts

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Halloween at Hogwarts**

The three-headed dog flew the minds of Charlie and Hermione when Halloween approached. Hagrid enlisted their help in carving the massive pumpkins he grew in his garden and Charlie managed to coax Harry into helping them. The boy was reluctant to go anywhere with her, as he believe she would get him in trouble.

"You need to relax," Charlie said as they scooped pumpkin guts and plopped them onto a pile of newspapers. "It's never going to happen again."

Harry just shot her a wary look as he dug his knife into pumpkin flesh. "So you haven't thought about why Professor Dumbledore is keeping a monster within the castle at all?"

Charlie frowned. "I'm allowed to be curious, aren't I? Besides, aren't you curious as to what that thing is guarding?"

"What do you mean, guarding?"

Hermione wiped her hands on a cloth and asked, "You didn't see the trapdoor the dog was standing on?"

"No!" Harry cried. "I was too busy fearing for my life." He gave the pumpkin a vicious stab, and Charlie wondered if he was imagining it being her head.

The threesome carried the finished pumpkins into the Great Hall and spent the rest of the afternoon studying. Charlie was excited for the coming evening, as she had never celebrated Halloween. She stayed home and cleaned while Petunia and Vernon took Dudley out trick-or-treating.

It was nice outside, so the trio decided to study by the lake. They were working quietly until Hermione gasped. "What's that?"

Charlie glanced up and squinted. She could see an owl flying towards them with an awkward-looking package clutched in its talons. "I have no idea."

The package was deposited right on top of her Potions essay. Surprised, Charlie pushed her quill aside and reached for the wrappings. Hermione swatted her hand away and gestured towards a note taped to the top.

_Miss Potter,_

_Please do not open this package unless you are alone. I'd prefer not to have dozens of jealous students attacking my office. You will be able to use this at your first Quidditch practice._

_Professor Flitwick_

Charlie stuffed the note in her pocket and reached for the wrappings again. Hermione frowned. "You're supposed to open it when you're alone!"

The Girl-Who-Lived sighed. "Hermione, you already know that I'm on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. And now Harry knows. Would you be jealous if this happened to be a broomstick?"

Harry shook his head. "I would not. Uncle Lupin would like it if I was on the Quidditch team next year...perhaps as a Chaser. I'm not sure if I want to though. Congratulations, Charlie."

"Thank you." Charlie ignored Hermione's exasperated look and tore the brown wrappings off. A broomstick with a polished wooden handle gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. She peered at the letters engraved in the side. "Nimbus Two-thousand. Huh. Fancy."

"Would you like at that? Potter and her merry band of freaks are still here. And one of them even has a broomstick!"

Pansy and Draco crossed over to them with smirks on their faces. "I believe first years are being banned from having broomsticks." Draco said casually.

"I wonder what Professor Snape would say if he knew." Pansy added.

Charlie arched an eyebrow. "Well, he might be able to yell at me, but he won't be able to give me detention. Professor Flitwick gave me special permission to be on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team."

"But that's not fair!" Draco exploded. "My father will-"

"Your father can stuff it." Charlie said coolly. "And you can tell Snape and as many people as you want, but I don't see the point. Everyone will know I'm playing when the first match of the season comes." She stood up and Hermione and Harry quickly gathered their things and followed her, leaving behind two steaming snakes.

...

Hermione and Charlie had Charms with the Gryffindors. The Charm they were practicing was the Levitating Charm, _Wingardium Leviosa._

It took Charlie a few tries, but Hermione got it on her first go and earned five points for Ravenclaw. Ron was sitting in the row ahead, thrashing his wand around. Hermione reached out and grabbed his wrist. "You're going to take out someone's eye!" She snapped. "It's swish and flick, and it's Win_gar_dium Levi_o_sa."

Ron glared at her. "I didn't ask you!" He snapped.

"Hey! She was trying to help." Charlie defended. "Stop being a prat."

Ron snarled at them and whirled around. "Miss I-Get-Everything-I-Want Potter is actually talking to a peasant like me." He muttered sarcastically. Before Charlie could respond the bell rang and the redhead was out of there.

...

Pumpkins and hundreds of candles floated in the Great Hall that evening. Charlie stuffed herself with as much sweets as she could, and even stored some in the pockets of her robes. Chocolate Frog wrappers littered the table and she chugged back some pumpkin juice. Hermione stared at her with wide eyes, a roast beef sandwich hovering near her mouth.

"You're going to get sick if you keep this up." She informed.

Charlie shrugged and popped a piece of candy corn in her mouth. "Halloween is amazing!" She said with a grin.

It was then the weird Professor Quirrell stumbled through the doors. For some reason the man bothered Charlie. He was always talking to himself and he smelt funny. And whenever he looked at her, her scar always stung. The only person who knew this was Hermione, and Charlie assured her that it was probably nothing.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher stopped at the Head Table. He panted heavily and said, "There's a troll in the dungeons. Just thought you'd want to know."

The reaction was instant. Kids sprang up and scattered around, screaming. Dumbledore stood up and fired purple sparks. He ordered the prefects to take their Houses to their Common Rooms and he and some other teachers hurried to hunt down the troll.

Charlie whistled softly as she and Hermione followed Penelope towards the doors. "Is Halloween always this exciting?"

"Charlie!"

The whispered hiss caused both girls to turn around. Harry was slipping towards them, casting glances behind his shoulder. But everyone was too preoccupied to notice the Hufflepuff sneaking away from his House.

"What are you doing?" Hermione demanded as they entered the corridor.

"I have to tell you something!" He hissed. "Ron left the Great Hall to go to the loo, but I overheard his Housemates saying that he snuck off to the library. Apparently he was bragging that he more important things to do than to come to the Halloween feast."

"Ron doesn't seem like the library type."

"Before the feast I ran into him in the corridor. Malfoy was ranting about how it wasn't fair that you got to play Quidditch and I think Ron was upset. He must have gone to the library to brush up on his Quidditch or something."

_That explains his attitude in Charms... _Charlie thought.

"That's stupid!" Hermione snapped. "Well, I suppose we ought to-"

"Uh, guys?" Charlie interrupted. While they had been talking, the Ravenclaw House had moved on and left them behind unknowingly. They stood in the middle of the deserted corridor.

"We have to go to the common room!" Hermione cried.

"We won't have time," Charlie pointed out. "The library is close, and if we run we can warn Ron. And I don't want anyone going alone for help. We stick together. Got it?"

Harry was shaking and Hermione was frustrated as they hurried for the library. They weaved through the stacks-and froze.

Ron was cornered against a book shelf. He was pale and his mouth was agape. A large, ugly troll wielding a club stood over him. Books flew in every direction and the three hit the ground. Harry was moaning in fear and Charlie hastily darted forward.

Now, she had only been a witch for a few months. Years of fighting with her cousin and his friends built up an instinct in her. That instinct was hard to push away. The instinct? Charge and tackle.

Charlie leapt in the air and held on to the troll. He roared in rage and thrashed about. Ron hastily scrambled between the troll's legs and scooped up a heavy book. He reared back and chucked it at the troll's head.

The troll howled and whirled around. Charlie widened her green eyes as he swung the club and knocked a bookshelf towards Hermione and Harry. Harry tackled Hermione out of the way and they landed at Ron's feet.

"Do something!" Harry howled, joining Ron in tossing the books at the troll. Charlie shoved her wand up his nose when he went to attack the trio. Hermione and Ron both called "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Hermione's charm hit the heavy globe that was resting on Madame Pince's desk in the far corner. Ron's spell hit the club that was clutched in the troll's meaty hand. The club soared out of his grip and clattered to the floor. The globe whizzed across the library and smacked the troll right in the face. He teetered a bit before falling-back first.

Charlie hastily dropped to the ground and scrambled out of the way. The troll hit the ground with an almighty thump.

The four eleven-year olds stood in the middle of the library, surrounded by broken pieces of the wooden bookshelves and hundreds of library books. Charlie gingerly wiped her wand on her robes and grimaced at the troll boogers.

"Madame Pince is going to kill us..." Harry moaned, running a hand through his black hair. His black glasses were hanging off of one ear and he quickly slipped them back over his brown eyes.

"Why did you try to tackle a troll?" Hermione asked as she glared at Charlie. "You do know you're a witch, right?"

Charlie flung up her arms in defense. "Well, excuse me. I forgot, okay?"

"You _forgot_?"

Just then a group of teachers burst into the library. They gaped at the mess, and then at the kids standing in the middle of it-right next to the unconscious troll. "Explain immediately!" McGonagall demanded, her lips pursed together tightly.

Charlie realized that they must have made a lot of racket. _Oh, so now they show up._"Uh..."

"Why are you not in your common rooms?" Flitwick asked sternly.

"It's my fault." Ron piped up. "If I hadn't skipped the feast and came here, the troll wouldn't have cornered me and these three wouldn't have had to save me."

"You took on a fully grown mountain troll?" Quirrell whispered, his eyes focussed on Charlie as he said this.

"Mr Weasley, five points from Gryffindor for doing something so foolish, and detention with me for skipping the feast." McGonagall informed.

"And five points to Miss Granger and Miss Potter, and you too Mr Lupin. Not many children can take on a fully grown mountain troll and live." Flitwick said with a slight smile. "But there will be detention for the rest of you as well. Now get back to your common rooms immediately."

The four scurried from the library. After an awkward silence for a minute, Ron said, "Thank you for saving me."

Charlie smiled. "It was nothing."

"But how did you know where I was?"

Harry raised a shaking hand. "I overheard your Housemates talking about how you skipped the feast and went to the library, of all places." He muttered, keeping his eyes on the ground.

Ron smiled softly. "Well, it's a good thing you were listening, or else I might be troll chow."

They all giggled at that, even Hermione.

...

Minerva put her hands on her hips and surveyed the mess. "Ridiculous. Four children taking on a troll."

"Very impressive, though." Flitwick squeaked.

"Indeed. Would you like to have the honours and tell Irma what has happened to her beloved library?"

"I'd rather not." Flitwick responded.

"I'll flip you for it." Minerva removed a Galleon from her rob pocket.

"Deal."

**Happy Halloween!**


	8. Quidditch

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Quidditch**

It was not uncommon to see Inter-House friendships (except with Slytherins, of course) but it was not often that students from different Houses became best friends so quickly.

Ron, although still a bit jealous that Charlie was on her House Quidditch team, decided that being a prat wasn't necessary and tried to be supportive about it. Harry had quickly warmed up to the redhead, eager to have another male member in their group. Charlie was willing to start over with Ron and Hermione had accepted Ron's apology for being so rude in Charms.

"What do you think our detention will be?" Hermione whispered anxiously the day after the troll event. She and Charlie were sitting at their House table. Their peers had been questioning them persistently about what had happened, but the two girls gave vague answers. Harry, not used to such attention, stammered out responses every time someone asked. Ron, however, was eager to spread around a heroic tale of bravery and cunning.

Charlie shrugged and drained her goblet of orange juice. "I suppose cleaning up the library or scrubbing cauldrons with Professor Snape."

Hermione was not at all pleased to have a detention, but she understood it was what she deserved. "How do you think the troll got in?" She whispered.

Charlie hesitated and cast a quick glance at the High Table. Professor Quirrell was talking to Professor Snape. As if they sensed someone staring at them, they both turned to look at her at the same time. Charlie hastily ducked her head and winced as her scar burned hotly. "Believe it or not, I'm suspicious of Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell."

Hermione frowned at her. "Really, that's ridiculous! They're both respected professors! What could they possibly gain by letting a troll into the school?"

"What about that thing the three-headed monster is guarding?" Charlie asked softly. "I mean, whatever it is must be valuable or else Dumbledore would never take such drastic measures to keep it safe and hidden."

Hermione thought about this for a moment. "While I agree that whoever set the troll loose wants what the dog is guarding, I simply can't see the culprit being either of the professors!"

"But every time I look at Professor Quirrell, I get a weird feeling in my scar. Not my forehead, my _scar_! And Professor Snape obviously hates me. He took away ten points from Ravenclaw just because I accidently spilled my ink well!" Charlie flung her hands out to the side. "Come on, you have to see some logic!"

The bushy haired girl eyed Charlie uncertainly. "I suppose we'll just have to wait and see." She finally said. "Let's not worry about this now. We have to report to Professor Flitwick after classes and get our detention assignment. Then tonight, you have your final Quidditch practice before the big game tomorrow."

"And we have Potions first." Charlie mumbled gloomily. "Fantastic."

...

The chilly weather of November did not help the conditions in the dungeons. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were shivering violently, arms wrapped tightly around their bodies in a desperate attempt to keep warm. Draco and Pansy seemed to be immune to it, stupid smirks on their faces as they waited patiently for the lesson to begin.

"If you keep shaking like that, your teeth will fall out!" Charlie whispered to Harry, who stood in between her and Hermione. Due to the odd number of kids in this class, there had to be a group of three to one cauldron. Hermione and Charlie immediately claimed their normal station with Harry, much to Snape's displeasure.

"I-I c-can't h-help it," he chattered back. The cold temperatures and his fear of Professor Snape made him shake violently.

The dungeon doors slammed shut and Snape swept towards the front. "Well," he drawled, immediately locking eyes with Charlie. "Miss Potter, if you think you are going to be praised for your obvious display of attention, I'm afraid it's not going to happen. Going after a troll is a ridiculous and stupid move. Are you sure you were meant to be a Ravenclaw?"

Snickers from the two snakes in the back followed this statement. Charlie kept her mouth shut and glared at him. "In fact, it seems unfair for me to allow you to brew this next potion with your...friends. So today you will be working with Mr. Malfoy and Miss Parkinson."

Charlie felt dread rise up in her gut, but she did not say anything. The last thing she needed was another detention. She grabbed her stuff and headed to the back of the dungeon.

"It's too bad the troll didn't have you for dinner," Pansy mocked as Charlie set up in between the two of them. "I was looking forward to taking your broomstick."

"So does that mean you were also looking forward to crashing into a tree?" Charlie snapped back. She opened her Potions textbook and started reading the instructions off the board.

"I'd watch that mouth of yours if I was you." Draco growled. "One of these days, it's going to be your downfall."

Charlie ignored him and started to brew. She should have started to get suspicious after the two fell silent for a long while, but she was too relieved that they were leaving her alone.

Of course, she should have known better.

Without warning her potion exploded and she flew backwards, crashing into the cold stone walls. Green liquid dripped down her body and she lay on the floor stunned, her entire body beginning to swell rapidly.

"Stand back!" Snape barked as Hermione and a few other Ravenclaws moved forward to help. Snape strode over to her and jerked her roughly to her feet. "Stupid girl! I assume you thought you knew how to brew this potion perfectly and dismissed the instructions I have given you!"

Charlie swayed slightly to the side and slowly turned to stare at her now-mangled cauldron. Draco and Pansy stood off to the side, completely unaffected by the explosion and grinning broadly.

_One of these days..._Charlie thought angrily. _I hate Swelling Solutions..._

After telling her that she would have a detention right after dinner and taking twenty points from Ravenclaw when Hermione tried to put the blame rightfully on the two snakes, Severus ordered Harry to bring Charlie down to the infirmary. He had given his last batch of Deflating Drought to Madam Pomfrey.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked frantically as he ushered a moaning Charlie down the corridor.

"Do I look okay?" Charlie managed to get out as she stumbled along on extremely large, sore feet.

Madam Pomfrey demanded an explanation when they burst into the infirmary. Harry nervously told the medic-witch what had happened as she went about giving Charlie the proper antidotes.

"Foolish girl," Pomfrey muttered as Charlie drained the last of the antidote from the small vial she was given. "You never mess around in Potions!"

"But it wasn't my fault!" Charlie protested. Pomfrey hushed her and after a quick check over, decided that she was free to leave.

"Can you believe those two?" Charlie exploded as they joined the crowd of students flowing from their classrooms into the corridor. "Not only do I have to meet Professor Flitwick right now to discuss the whole troll thing, but now I have detention after dinner with Snape. And I just bet he'll make me late for my Quidditch practice!"

Harry gulped. "I hope Professor Sprout doesn't send me to Snape. I don't think I could handle it!"

"I'm sure Neville would agree with you." Charlie said, as she knew Harry was often called 'Hufflepuff's Neville' by the Slytherins. They were both nervous and a bit clumsy, and they both shared a great fear of one Professor Severus Snape.

...

Charlie met Hermione in the Common Room. Hermione handed her the stuff she had forgotten in potions and told her to hurry up and put it away. "Professor Flitwick will be expecting us!"

After shoving her Potions supplies and book in her trunk, Charlie raced out of the Common Room after Hermione.

Panting, they halted in front of their Head of House's office. "Let's get this over with." Charlie rasped and knocked on the door. They entered when Flitwick granted them entrance.

His office was nearly identical to the Ravenclaw Common Room. The ceiling was domed and covered in sparkling silver stars and crescent moons. A large collection of leather-bound books covered the wooden bookshelf behind his oak desk, which was rather large for such a small guy. The two girls hurried across the plush midnight-blue carpet and obediently sat down in the two squashy chairs opposite his desk.

Professor Flitwick, sitting on his usual pile of burgundy cushions, frowned sternly at them. "Now, I'm sure you ladies know exactly why you are here."

"Yes, Professor," Hermione and Charlie chorused.

"We've discussed the reasons why what you did was wrong yesterday. Would you care to review those reasons for me?" Flitwick questioned.

"We disobeyed the Headmaster's orders." Hermione promptly answered.

"We placed ourselves in danger." Charlie added.

"We acted foolishly." Hermione finished.

Flitwick nodded. "Good, good. For your detention, you will spend the next week after lunch helping Madam Pince restore her library."

"Was she...very angry when she found the mess?" Charlie asked warily, knowing how the uptight witch could get about her books.

"Er..." Flitwick recalled the crude words Irma had shouted at him when he broke the news to her. He had lost the coin toss...and most of his hearing. "I suppose you could say that, yes."

The two girls bid their Professor farewell before hurrying off to History of Magic, where Charlie got bombarded with scrunched up pieces of parchment.

...

"So, how bad was your punishment?" Ron asked as the four of them met in front of the Great Hall.

Charlie shrugged. "Not so bad, I suppose. Hermione and I have to help Madam Pince fix up the library for all of next week."

"I hope for your sake she's in a good mood." Ron muttered. "She hunted me down and almost cornered me outside of Transfiguration. I'm just glad McGonagall came out when she did and saved me."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "How about you two? What's your detention assignment?"

Ron groaned, his blue eyes displaying the despair he felt. "I have to polish the trophies in the Trophy Room with Filch supervising. I haven't decided yet if he's as bad as Pince when she's on a rampage."

"I get to help him." Harry smiled happily. "I think Professor Snape pressed Professor Sprout to have me serve my detention with him, but she must have had pity on me."

"Snape is such a git." Ron grumbled. "I can't believe he yelled at you when it was the fault of those snakes!"

"I filled him in when we were walking towards the Great Hall." Harry explained.

"Yeah...it is unfair." Charlie sighed. "But the last teacher you want to mess with is Professor Snape."

"Hmm..." Ron looked thoughtful. "I don't know. I happen to fear Filch more than Snape, really."

"I haven't given Mrs. Norris a good kick yet..." Charlie mused. "Perhaps we should lock her in with the three-headed monster."

"Don't talk about that!" Harry cried. "That topic is off-limits!"

"Oh shush." Charlie rolled her bright green eyes and filled the two boys in on her theory about how the troll got in. Harry then told Ron that the three-headed dog was guarding something.

"It must be whatever Hagrid took out of Gringotts on our trip to Diagon Ally..." Charlie said firmly. "It can't be a coincidence that Gringotts got broken into, and the thieves were after the exact same vault the mysterious item was kept in!"

Ron gasped softly. "Blimey! It must have been some really powerful wizards or witches! Gringotts is nearly impossible to break into!"

"Obviously not that impossible," Hermione pointed out. "But what _is _the item, and who set the troll into the castle?"

The four could not come up with any answers.

...

Charlie was extremely glad to escape the clutches of Severus Snape. Her detention with him was finally over after hours of writing line after line. But while she was writing, she noticed something she had not noticed during class.

Professor Snape was limping, and there seemed to be a splattering of blood on his robes.

She dwelled on this until she hit the Quidditch pitch. Over the past few weeks she had gotten to know her fellow team members.

Scarlett Ezra was a motivating team captain. She pushed them to do their best and did not take any slack from any of them. Although she could be a bit blunt and loud, her heart was in the right place.

Tommy Nickerson was one of the Chasers along with Eliza Mourning and Danny Carting. He was outspoken and often clashed with his team captain. He also enjoyed the art of name calling. Danny Carting was a bit clumsy on a broomstick, but never missed the Quaffle when it was passed to him. Eliza Mourning was a sweet girl who didn't say much, but she had perfect aim when it came to tossing Quaffles through the goals.

Clancy Stevenson and Aurora Lore were the Beaters. Clancy liked to show off and did sometimes dangerous tricks on his broomstick. Aurora was tough and knew how to curse in three languages.

"Alright guys." Scarlett said seriously as she paced back and forth in front of them. "Tomorrow is our first match, and it's against the Hufflepuffs."

Tommy snorted. "I don't know why you're so worried. We kicked their butt last year."

"Barely!" Scarlett snapped. "We beat them by a mere five points! And if you kept your big mouth shut and paid attention, you might have actually caught a Quaffle or two!"

Eliza giggled a bit behind her hand. Tommy scowled and slouched a bit. Scarlett cleared her throat. "You guys have performed pretty well, I'll admit. But dang it Clancy! Quit trying to do a handstand on your broom during penalty shots!"

Clancy sighed. "Geez! Fine, I will. I'm just trying to spice things up."

"I think Quidditch is already exciting enough without you attempting to break your neck." Danny commented dryly.

Aurora burst out laughing and clapped Clancy on the back. "Man, would that be a sight to see!"

Scarlett groaned and passed a hand over her eyes. "Okay, focus! Despite all that, we totally have a chance to win the tournament. With Charlie as our Seeker, we can't lose!"

"Knock on wood!" Tommy howled. He rapped his knuckles on the handle of his broomstick and grinned innocently as Scarlett glared at him.

"Ten laps around the pitch!" She barked. "All of you move!"

Everyone groaned and shot Tommy glares of irritation before mounting their brooms and shooting into the cool November air. Charlie took a deep breath and grinned. Tomorrow's match would be amazing.

...

"You're going to do brilliantly!" Ron assured her the next morning as they trekked towards the Quidditch pitch after breakfast. Harry and Hermione nodded eagerly. Charlie smiled brightly.

"Thanks guys!" Her stomach bubbled with nerves, but she was excited. "Do me a favour and make sure Pansy and Draco don't chuck anything potentially harmful at me during the game, alright?"

"I'll hex them if they even try to," Ron promised.

Hermione slapped him across the arm and scowled. "Ronald!"

Charlie laughed and waved goodbye to her friends as she hurried onto the pitch. Scarlett was nervously bouncing up and down. "Don't be nervous guys, we got this. There is no way Branson can best Potter-Nickerson, if you say 'knock on wood' one more time, I will hurt you!"

"Now, Miss Ezra..."

Scarlett blushed and glanced at her feet as Professor Flitwick wandered up. "I'm sorry Professor. I'm just a bit nervous, that's all."

Flitwick smiled kindly at her. "I'm sure all of you will be brilliant! And remember, it doesn't matter if we win or lose. It matters that we play-"

"-with class and integrity," The team finished in unison.

Flitwick nodded proudly and scurried off to the teacher stands. Scarlett took a deep breath and mounted her broom. "This is it. Do your best, and Clancy, _please _don't do anything stupid."

The fifth-year was offended.

Lee Jordan called them out one by one, and a great cheer rose up from everyone but the Slytherins when her name was called. Charlie flew out into the cold air and waved to the crowd. They got into their positions and waited for Madam Hooch to begin the game.

"I want a good, clean, fair game." She ordered. The whistle was placed between her lips and she blew harshly, emitting a loud piercing whistle. The Quaffle flew in the air and Tommy immediately snatched it.

"Nickerson immediately takes possession of the Quaffle. He's tossing it to Mourning-oh! Fredericton from Hufflepuff intercepts it! He shoots-he scores!"

Tommy hollered out some choice words that caused Madam Hooch to blow the whistle warningly. The Hufflepuffs went crazy and screamed loudly. Charlie flew around the pitch, keeping her eye out for the Golden Snitch.

"Carting has the Quaffle-oh, and he narrowly misses the Bludger! Nice try, Graford. Carting trying to regain control of his broom after his near miss-yikes! He just got nailed with the other Bludger! Good aim Hollings."

"FOCUS!" Scarlett shrieked from her place by the goals. "Lore, where's your head at?"

"Stevenson was closer!" Aurora protested. Clancy glared at her and waved his beater bat in the air.

"Sure! It's my fault!"

"_SHUT UP AND GET BACK IN THE GAME!"_

The two Beaters stopped their quarrelling and Aurora muttered something under her breath. Charlie smiled slightly and idly watched the game play out.

Eliza and Danny managed to score a few more points. They had two mishaps; one was when Clancy tried whacking a Bludger while doing a handstand on his broomstick and lost his balance. Charlie managed to catch him by the neck of his robes and with the help of Aurora they set him back on his broom.

"Moron!" Aurora snapped.

Clancy scowled but kept two hands on his broomstick for the rest of the game.

Then the second mishap happened. Charlie's broom began to buck wildly, as if it wanted her off of it as soon as possible. Yelping, Charlie kept both hands on the broom as she jerked about violently. _What's going on?_

...

"What's going on?" Harry cried in horror as he watched Charlie desperately try to keep her grip on her broom.

His fellow Hufflepuffs looked just as perplexed as he was. Harry looked around frantically and spotted Hermione with her fellow Ravenclaws. He quickly made his way towards her.

"Hermione!" He panted when he finally made it to the bushy-haired girl. "What's happening?"

"I don't know!" Hermione cried, hands pressed to her cheeks in horror. "Someone must be jinxing the broom!"

"But who?"

"Guys!" Ron hollered as he struggled to make his way to them through the crowd of students. He waved a pair of binoculars in the air. "I borrowed these from my brother! I couldn't see anything from where I was, though."

"Let me see!" Hermione ordered and immediately raked the stands for anything suspicious. Then she gasped. "I don't believe it!"

"What?" Harry asked.

"Professor Snape is muttering words, I can see! And he's staring directly at Charlie!"

"I knew he was a jerk!" Ron snapped angrily. "The slimy git is trying to kill Charlie!"

Hermione couldn't help but agree that it might be possible. "I have an idea! Keep your eyes on Professor Snape, okay?" Hermione thrust the binoculars at the two boys and took off.

"What is she doing?" Harry asked nervously.

Ron shrugged and resumed observing Snape. "I'm not sure, but whatever she's thinking I hope she does it soon."

...

Hermione crept towards the staff stands and rushed for Snape. She accidently sent Professor Quirrell pitching forwards in her hurry and hastily ducked down as teachers turned their eyes off the student in danger and towards the commotion.

Hermione whispered a spell and cast small blue flames that began licking their way up Snape's robes. The smoke wafted up and he hollered in surprise. Hermione quickly stole away as Dumbledore and McGonagall began to assist the Potions professor.

"That was brilliant!" Ron exclaimed as Hermione rejoined them.

"And it worked too!" Harry cried excitedly as he watch Charlie regain her grip on her broomstick.

The black-haired Seeker let out a sigh of relief when her broom started to behave again. Her green eyes raked the pitch and she gasped. She had caught the sparkle of the Golden Snitch as it streaked across the field. Eager, she went after it with Hufflepuff Seeker Red Buffington right on her tail.

"Go Charlie!" Aurora shouted as she blasted a Bludger towards Buffington.

Charlie zoomed after the Golden Snitch and stretched out her hand. Her mouth opened in a scream of victory-but then the Snitch jerked upwards and she caught it in her open mouth as she flew forwards.

She quickly clapped one hand over her mouth and toppled to the ground. The fall was short and she rolled around a bit when she impacted. Sprawled on the ground, she coughed once and stared in disbelief as the Golden Snitch plopped in her open hand.

The Ravenclaws burst into wild cheering and the Hufflepuffs applauded politely. Hermione and Harry jumped up and down happily and Ron whooped.

"Brilliant!" Scarlett cheered as she and the other Ravenclaws descended upon her.

"That was one heck of a catch!" Clancy exclaimed, slapping her on the back.

"Very well done," Eliza congratulated softly.

"We're heading to the Common Room to celebrate!" Tommy grinned. "Wanna come?"

"I'll catch up with you guys later." Charlie promised.

Scarlett praised her one more time before hurrying after her teammates. Charlie hurried into the change room and hastily whipped off her Quidditch robes and dressed in her regular school robes. Clutching her beloved broomstick in one hand, she jogged towards her waiting friends. "Did you guys see that?"

"Which part?" Harry questioned. "Do you mean the part where the broom tried to buck you off or the part where you ate the Snitch?"

"First of all, I did not eat the Snitch. Second of all, I suppose I mean both parts."

"Well, it was brilliant when you caught the Snitch." Ron praised. "You should have seen Buffington's face! It was priceless."

"As for the part where the broom almost bucked you to your doom...well, I'm afraid you were right." Hermione sighed.

Charlie arched an eyebrow. "Do explain."

Hermione passed a hand through her bushy hair. "Ron had binoculars, and I spotted Professor Snape muttering words and staring at you. I thought he was cursing your broom so I went to try and stop him."

"She lit his robes on fire!" Ron chuckled heartily. "It was fantastic."

"And when he got distracted by the fire, your broom stopped jerking around." Hermione finished. "Perhaps Professor Snape is trying to steal this mysterious item."

"You know what?" Charlie mused. "I noticed during detention that he was limping. Maybe he set the troll in and during his attempt to get his mysterious item the dog bit him."

"It is possible." Harry frowned and scratched his short jet black hair. "But _why _is this item so important? What makes it so special?"

"That's what we have to find out." Ron shrugged.

"And what exactly are we going to do when we _do _find out what that monster is hiding?" Harry demanded, his brown eyes darkening in fear.

"We'll simply tell Professor Dumbledore our suspicions." Charlie assured him.

"OI! I thought I'd find ya here!"

The four looked up in surprise to see Hagrid lumbering towards them. "Yer teammates told me ya would be 'ere." Hagrid beamed at her. "Congrats fer catchin' the Snitch!"

"Thanks Hagrid." Charlie smiled back.

"Would ye four like ta join me for tea?" Hagrid invited.

Ron and Harry, who had only seen Hagrid from a distance, nodded nervously. They followed Hermione and Charlie towards Hagrid's hut. The second they had entered the cosy accommodations, a large black boarhound bounded up and tackled Harry to the ground.

"Agh!" Harry cried as the dog licked his face happily. He squirmed on the ground and Hagrid hauled the dog away.

"Foolish mutt," he muttered. "Sorry 'bout that. He's a real softie, wouldn't hurt a fly."

Harry nodded shakily and collapsed onto a small couch beside Ron. Hagrid studied him curiously. The short jet black hair, dark brown eyes, smattering of freckles across his cheeks and nose seemed oddly familiar. "I know who 'e is," he said, jerking a large thumb towards the stunned redhead. "Can spot a Weasley from a distance, you can."

Ron blushed.

"Bu' I don' think I know you." Hagrid studied the fidgety Harry closely.

"I-I'm Harry Lupin," he stuttered.

A brief flash of realization and shock flickered through his dark eyes, so quick that not even Hermione noticed it. "I see. Nice ta meet you, Harry. I'm Hagrid."

Harry smiled softly. "It's nice to meet you."

"What's his name?" Ron asked suddenly as Fang trotted up and propped his head in the redhead's lap, tail wagging.

"Fang," Hagrid said proudly. "Good boy 'e is."

"He kind of looks like a much smaller version of the dog in the third corridor..." Harry said thoughtfully, and then clapped a hand over his mouth in horror when he realized what he said.

"Ye wen' into the third corridor?" Hagrid asked sharply, glaring at each of them sternly. "Do ya know wha' could have happened to ya?"

"I have a slight clue..." Ron muttered.

With a sigh, Charlie began to tell Hagrid of their little adventure. "That three-headed dog was a real surprise..."

"Aw, Fluffy is real sweet once ya get ta know 'im."

The four eleven-year olds stared at him in shock. "_Fluffy?"_ Ron asked in disbelief. "You named that monster _Fluffy_?"

"He's not a monster, jus' a bi' feisty is all." Hagrid corrected.

Charlie sighed. "Yeah, _real _feisty. Where did you _get_ Fluffy?"

Hagrid stroked his long bushy beard in thought. "Got 'em off a fellow from a pub. Lent 'im ta Dumbledore to guard the-wait jus' a second! Never you mind!"

Charlie groaned. "But Hagrid! Whatever Fluffy is guarding is in danger! Professor Snape is trying to steal it!"

Hagrid looked perplexed. "Professor Snape?"

"Yeah! Didn't you see Charlie's broom act all mad?" Ron asked. "It was Snape! He was staring at Charlie and mouthing words!"

"And his leg is hurt, so when he set the troll loose in the castle Fluffy must have bit him when he attempted to go through the trap door!" Charlie concluded.

"Enough o' that!" Hagrid frowned at them. "I was at the match an' I didn't see Perfessor Snape do anything!"

"But he did! Hagrid, please-"

"No! I won' hear o' it! Perfessor Snape is a respected teacher an' he would never do anything to hurt a student!"

"Maybe not physically..." Harry mumbled under his breath as he fed a rock cake to Fang.

"Hagrid-"

"No more!" Hagrid bellowed. "You four should stop thinkin' 'bout Fluffy and the trap door! Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel wouldn't want a couple o' kids puttin' themselves in danger."

The four exchanged a triumphant look. They now had something to go by: whatever the dog was guarding, Nicolas Flamel had something to do with it.

**I had to put the part where she catches the Snitch in her mouth. It was too amusing to change :) **

**Sorry for the delay. I'll try to update again before Christmas.**


	9. Christmas at Hogwarts

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Christmas at Hogwarts**

"This is brilliant!" Hermione whispered in awe, eyes wide as she stared around the Great Hall. Charlie only nodded silently, unable to say anything at the moment as she took in the beauty.

Gold and silver garland covered eleven pine trees that were situated around the Hall. Green and red decorations crawled across the wide walls and wreaths covered the High Table. Everything seemed to sparkle and twinkle. Charlie watched as Professor Flitwick decorated the sweet-smelling trees with golden bubbles.

"Wow..." Hermione said softly. "I wish I knew how to do that."

Overhearing her soft-spoken wish, Professor Flitwick turned around and smiled at the two gobsmacked girls. They certainly weren't used to such magical festivities, as they were raised in the Muggle-world after all. "Would you like to learn how?"

Eyes almost popping from her head, Hermione nodded eagerly and Charlie grinned broadly. The two spent the next few minutes learning how to make gold bubbles emerge from the tip of their wands and drift towards the trees. Flitwick praised their good work and actually gave them five points each. The two bid their Head of House goodbye before venturing off to the library.

Their detention for the whole troll fiasco had been finished a while ago and Madam Pince seemed reluctant to allow them access to her library since clean-up completion. Most of the books had been easily repairable, and all that had to be done was rebuilding bookshelves, sweeping floors and putting together tables.

Ron wasn't too pleased that they were spending so much time in the library just before the Christmas holidays. But since he didn't have too many friends in the Gryffindor House besides his mischievous twin brothers Fred and George and uptight prefect brother Percy, he decided spending the majority of his time in the library wouldn't kill him.

"This is ridiculous!" Hermione exclaimed, snapping yet another book closed in frustration. "How can there be nothing on Nicolas Flamel?"

Charlie shrugged and added the book to their growing discard pile. "Maybe the guy isn't really all that famous. Everyone in the wizarding world can't have a book about them, can they?"

"Hey!" Harry suddenly cried out. He held up a red book with golden script and grinned. "Here's one about you!"

"No way!" Charlie said in disbelief. She snatched the book from his grasp and poured through it. "Wow...they make my life seem so glamorous. They should spend a few days with the Dursleys."

"Are they really awful?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Yeah, a bit." Charlie shrugged. "But they're my only family."

"Are you going back for Christmas?" Ron asked, lazily flipping through a book without really reading it.

Charlie snorted. "Not if I can help it. Are you any of you guys staying behind?"

Harry shook his head apologetically. "My Uncle Remus wants me home for Christmas. He says it's a time for family. And besides, he's been waiting to scold me for the whole troll thing since Halloween."

Charlie wondered what had happened to Harry's parents, but decided a long time ago not to ask. It might be a personal subject and she was sure Harry would tell them when he was ready. "How about you Hermione?"

The bushy-haired girl shook her head. "My parents and I will be going skiing."

Ron and Harry looked perplexed. "What's skiing?" Harry questioned.

Hermione blinked. "Oh! Well...it's when you fasten two pieces of wood to your feet and...slid down a really steep snowy hill."

Even she seemed to realize how silly her explanation sounded. Charlie smirked slightly as Harry and Ron burst into fits of hysterical laughter. They tried to quiet themselves, but it did no good. Madam Pince tossed the two howling males out of her library.

"Boys!" Hermione harrumphed, going back to her research. Charlie just giggled.

...

"That is a big tree." Harry marvelled as Hagrid lumbered through the front entrance covered in snow, carrying a rather large pine tree.

"Doesn't the Great Hall have enough trees?" Ron questioned as he hurried forward to help Hagrid steady himself.

"Thank yeh, Ron. An' this 'ere is the grand tree fer the Hall!" Hagrid said proudly. "Cut it down me self."

"It's certainly majestic." Charlie complimented. "Do you need any help?"

Before Hagrid could respond, Pansy strutted down the corridor. When she spotted them, she smirked and said casually, "Take a good look at that tree Potter. Weasley might steal it later on so he can use it for firewood; goodness knows his family can't even afford an axe."

Ron snarled and charged towards her, but Harry and Charlie hastily held him back. Pansy cackled and hurried out of sight. "That little-!"

"Don't listen to her Ron!" Harry soothed.

"Yeah, nothing that comes out of her mouth is worth listening to." Charlie agreed, releasing her grip on Ron.

"Yer family is good people, Ron." Hagrid said firmly. "Don' forget tha'."

Ron smiled gratefully and the four bid Hagrid farewell before heading towards their respective Common Rooms.

...

Christmas holidays came up faster than the four expected and they had gotten no more information on Nicolas Flamel. Hermione was getting frustrated and Charlie had the feeling she heard that name before, but she didn't know where.

Ron was staying behind for Christmas because his family was visiting his older brother Charlie in Romania. The redhead eagerly told her all about his job and the kinds of dragons he encountered. Harry then had a good laugh, as he found the fact that her name was nearly the same as Ron's brother. Charlie reluctantly agreed to be called by her real name when discussing him.

Hermione and Harry headed off for the train with some luggage. Before leaving, Hermione had ordered all of them to do some more digging on the mysterious Nicholas Flamel. "Leave no book in that library unread! I'll check out my own Muggle library; perhaps he was a Muggle-born like me."

"But it's the holidays!" Ron protested. "Shouldn't we be avoiding the library?"

Hermione and Charlie shot him glares and he groaned. "Ravenclaws..."

Harry smothered a giggle and waved goodbye before hurrying off after Hermione as she descended down the snow-covered stone steps. Ron and Charlie waved until they were out of sight and went back inside, shivering.

"So, now what shall we do?" Ron questioned.

Charlie peered at the winter wonderland outside. "It is really nice outside. Want to go play in the snow?"

"Yeah Ronniekins! You can-"

"-join us in having a snowball fight!"

Two redheaded twins joined them with identical smirks-actually, everything about them was identical. Ron frowned and crossed his arms. "Are you going to cheat and use magic?"

"Of course not!" One of them cried, offended.

"We would _never _do such a thing!" The other agreed.

Charlie cast a confused look at the annoyed Ron. "Oh, sorry Charlie. These are my other brothers-Fred and George." He pointed out the respective twin as he said their names. "And don't believe half the things that come out of their mouth."

"We're hurt, Ron!" Fred pouted. "How could you think so little of your own brothers?"

Ron gave him a pointed look and the pout was immediately replaced by a grin. "Perhaps we like to joke around a bit too much..."

"Understatement..." Ron muttered under his breath.

George grinned at her. "So you're the famous Charlotte Potter...can we see the scar?"

"George!" Ron hissed.

Charlie smiled and pushed aside her long raven bangs, revealing a lightning shaped scar. Fred and George whistled appreciatively. She let her bangs fall just over her bright green eyes once more before asking, "Do you think you can call me Charlie instead of Charlotte?"

Fred shook his head apologetically. "I'm sure Ron has already told you, but we have an older brother named Charlie. It'll just feel weird-no offense to you, of course-and we will start getting confused, I can promise you that."

Charlie sighed, but understood. She and Ron then agreed to take the twins up on their offer of a snowball fight and spent the next ten minutes getting pummelled. Ron had been right about one thing, you couldn't take what the twins said seriously. They immediately began using magic two minutes into the fight. Their excuse was that they had crossed their fingers behind their backs.

Dripping with melted snow and shivering, Charlie and Ron went to their respective Common Rooms and dried off.

It was after dinner when Charlie suggested that they go back to the library and research the elusive Nicholas Flamel. Ron reluctantly agreed and the two claimed their usual spots in the corner. Ron prowled by the Restricted Section before Madam Pince shooed him away.

"What are the chances we could get a permission slip?" Ron asked as he gestured towards the roped-off section.

Charlie snorted. "Very bad odds, I assure you. I'm sure the professors are all in on what Fluffy is guarding."

Ron sighed and continued to browse through the book he had selected off the shelves. A few hours later Madam Pince kicked them out and Ron promised that they would open their presents together.

"How?" Charlie asked as Ron escorted her towards her Common Room. The redhead halted in the middle of the corridor and his blue eyes turned thoughtful.

"Gee, I didn't think of that."

"Why don't we ask one of our House Heads if we can do it in one of our Common Rooms?" Charlie suggested.

"I don't know. I don't think anyone other than a Gryffindor has been inside the Gryffindor Common Room."

"Doesn't hurt to ask," Charlie pointed out. "So, do you want it to be in yours or mine?"

Ron rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Er, is it okay if it's mine?"

Charlie smiled. She knew Ron was uncomfortable sometimes about being around two girls who were smarter than him. Being around a whole crowd of Ravenclaws would be awkward for him. "Sure. Do you know where McGonagall's office is?"

He screwed his face up in thought. "Behind the portrait of Godric Gryffindor. But I don't know where that is."

"Then let's hurry up and find it before curfew."

The two asked various portraits for directions and finally ended up in front of a large portrait of Godric. Ron whistled appreciatively and Charlie studied it. "Excuse me? Sir?"

The man peered down at her. "What is it?"

"Is Professor McGonagall in?"

"She is indeed. Would you like to speak to her?"

The two students nodded and the man disappeared for a moment. Suddenly the portrait swung open and McGonagall stepped out, eyeing them sternly. "Are you two aware there is only five minutes until curfew?"

"Yes ma'am," Ron said nervously. "But...I was wondering if..."

"Spit it out, Mr. Weasley." McGonagall ordered as Ron struggled to voice his odd request.

Charlie nudged him encouragingly and Ron took a deep breath. "Do you think Charlie could stay in our Common Room for Christmas morning? So we can open our presents together? Please?"

Minerva McGonagall was slightly thrown off. She could not recall when a student requested that a student from another House enter their Common Room. She debated this for a moment and could not come up with a reason why. Students normally stayed in their respective Common Rooms because of safety reasons, but this was Charlotte Potter-a Ravenclaw and a respectable girl.

McGonagall also knew that Hermione Granger was home for the holidays along with Harry Lupin. The only other person Charlie had a slightly strong bond with was Ronald Weasley. Even she was surprised when bitter enemies turned to somewhat best friends so quickly.

"Well...I suppose so. But because of the school rules I cannot give you the password to enter-"Here she shot Ron a firm look. "-and neither can Mr. Weasley. So you will wait by the portrait of the Fat Lady and Mr. Weasley will grant you entrance. You are allowed to stay there until dinner, then you must return to your own Common Room. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," the two kids chorused happily.

"I will notify Professor Flitwick of your whereabouts. Now to bed with the both of you!"

Ron and Charlie scurried off, with the promise that she would be outside the Gryffindor Common Room at seven-thirty sharp.

...

Charlie awoke the next morning to the sun pouring through the open window. Scrambling to the foot of her bed, she was surprised to see a pile of presents waiting for her. Casting a quick glance to her clock, she noted with dismay she had five minutes to get to the Gryffindor Common Room. Shoving her cold feet into her slippers, she grabbed her packages and ran as fast as she could to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Ron had just swung the portrait of the Fat Lady open when Charlie slid up, panting heavily. "I-made-it!"

"Cutting it a bit close, aren't you?" Ron commented as he helped Charlie carry her packages up to his dormitory. His Housemates that stayed behind looked at them in bewilderment. A redhead with horn-rimmed glasses strode up and glared at them.

"Ron, what are you doing? You can't just let a Ravenclaw into our Common Room like that! Now young lady, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to go back to your own Common Room or else I'll be forced to call Professor McGonagall!"

Ron glared at the prefect. "For your information Percy, Professor McGonagall gave her permission to stay with me today! Go on and ask her if you don't believe me."

Charlie followed Ron up a set of stairs and sat crossed-legged on the bed beside Ron's. The person who occupied seemed to have been gone for the holidays. "Is he your brother to?"

Ron nodded glumly. Charlie whistled softly. "Gee, how many siblings do you have?"

"Five older brothers and a younger sister," Ron muttered. "Come on, let's open our presents!"

Charlie noticed this change of topic and decided that Ron must be a bit sensitive about his siblings. So she plucked a rather lumpy package off the top of her pile and frowned at it. "From Mrs. Weasley? Ron...what is this?"

Ron eyed the package and turned bright red. "Oh blimey...she didn't!"

Charlie was confused. "Is this your mother?"

"Yeah...I kind of told her all about you in my letters." Ron muttered in embarrassment. "I also might have mentioned that you probably weren't expecting much, due to all the stuff you've told us about the Dursleys."

Charlie was touched. "Aw! That's so sweet!" She tore off the brown paper and held up a midnight blue sweater with a bronze Ravenclaw symbol sewn in the middle. "I love it!"

"Yours is cool!" Ron complained, holding up a maroon sweater with his initials sewn in the upper right-hand corner. "Why can't she ever make me one like that?"

Charlie just smiled and yanked her sweater over her head, pulling it over her pyjama top. Then she opened a package from Hermione and laughed. "You'll never believe what she got me."

"What?" Ron asked, looking up from the box of sweets Hermione had gotten him. He spotted a brand-new copy of _Hogwarts: A History _and groaned. "Please don't tell me you're going to be reading that as obsessively as Hermione."

"I think I've already memorized it from her telling me about it," she joked back. She placed the book beside her and opened the next one from Harry. "Sweet! He got me a bunch of Chocolate Frogs!"

"Me too!" Ron said through a mouthful of chocolate, half of his frogs already gone and a pile of cards gathering by his feet.

Charlie grinned when she unwrapped a book about Quidditch from Ron. "Thanks!"

Ron smiled. "I thought it might be useful." He then opened his present from Charlie, which turned out to be a new Chudley Cannon badge. "Brilliant!"

The two tore into their sweets (although Ron was nearly done by this point) and Charlie suddenly shrieked in surprise. Ron looked at her in concern. "What is it?"

Charlie gestured towards a card of Albus Dumbledore she had unwrapped. "Look! **Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner Nicolas Flamel.**"

Ron arched an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose that's something. But we still don't know what Fluffy is guarding."

Charlie sighed. "True. Should we owl Hermione and tell her of our discovery?"

"I can't see why not. But you still have one more package to unwrap." Ron pointed out.

Confused, Charlie peered at the package that had fallen over and picked it up. She read the note and gasped softly. "This note says that this present once belonged to my father...but there's no signature."

"Open it!" Ron whispered eagerly.

Charlie tore off the paper and stared in disbelief at a shimmering cloak that was clear and looked like it rippled. "What is it?"

"It's an invisibility cloak..." Ron gasped. "Those things aren't easy to come by. Try it on!"

She did and stared in the mirror in awe. The cloak was wrapped around her body, and only her head was visible. "This is brilliant!"

A thoughtful look crossed Ron's face and he grinned. "I've just had an idea!"

Charlie arched an eyebrow. "Do go on."

"Well, what if we used the invisibility cloak to sneak into the Restricted Section at night?"

"That's a horrible idea!"

"How else are we supposed to find information on Flamel then? We already looked in every book available to use and we can't use a restricted book without arousing suspicion!" Ron said earnestly. "We won't even get caught!"

Charlie reached up and knocked on the wooden bed frame, a habit she had picked up from Tommy. "Well...I suppose so. I'll meet you in front of the Great Hall at quarter to one and while I search for a book you keep lookout and meow like a cat if someone comes. Do you know how to cast the Disillusionment Charm?"

Ron cast her a glance and Charlie smirked. "Didn't think so. Hermione read ahead and taught me it."

"Ravenclaws..." Ron muttered.

...

Ron and Charlie sat at the very end of the Gryffindor table and ate their Christmas feast together. Aside from a few curious looks, no one told them to separate.

After they were stuffed with roast, potatoes and desert, Ron and Charlie said goodnight before heading to their respective Common Rooms. Charlie put all her gifts away and fondly folded up her sweater from Mrs. Weasley, making a quick mental note to send her a thank-you card.

When the time came to meet Ron she let out a nervous sigh. She carefully picked up her Invisibility Cloak and cast a quick look around; making sure no one was still awake and watching. Snowy rubbed against her ankles and Charlie chuckled. "I'll be back later. You get the bed for now."

Snowy was all too happy to comply, jumping gracefully onto the midnight blue comforter. Charlie rolled her bright green eyes and hurried from her room, the Cloak wrapped tightly around her body.

She found Ron crouched behind a knight in armour. She revealed herself and Ron pulled the Cloak over himself as well. The two snuck into the library and into the Restricted Section.

"I can't find anything!" Ron exclaimed.

Charlie groaned. "We've only been here five minutes!"

"Who dares intrude into my domain?"

The two kids jumped fearfully and whirled around. Madam Pince was prowling from shelf to shelf, shining her wand around with a rather crazed look on her face. She seemed to be more protective of her library than ever before.

"I forgot about the wards!" Ron whispered in horror. At Charlie's confused look he hastily explained, "They're these spells you can cast on a place to warn you if there's ever a break-in, no matter where you are."

"Fantastic!" Charlie hissed. Understanding that this mission was now a bust, the two began moving hurriedly for the exit. Ron moaned with despair when Mrs. Norris stalked in, whiskers twitching as she attempted to detect their scent.

"Come on!" Charlie lugged Ron to the back of the library. She spotted a door in the very corner, slightly ajar, and she dove in, shutting the door behind her.

"That was close." Ron muttered.

"This was a great idea!" Charlie said sarcastically. Her gaze then caught sight of a mirror stored in the corner. "That's a nice mirror."

Ron nodded his agreement, staring at the ornate gold frame in awe. He slipped out from under the cloak and moved towards it. Charlie decided that they were safe for the moment and squinted at the inscription carved along the top of the mirror.

_**Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.**_

Her brain raced to unscramble this message. "I...show...not...your...face...but...your...hearts...desire."

"This is spectacular!" Ron cried out suddenly, his face alight with glee. "I'm Head Boy! And Quidditch Captain! I even have top marks!"

Charlie frowned in confusion when she could only see Ron's reflection. _What does he see that I can't?_

The answer came quickly. _He sees his heart's desire._

"May I see?" Charlie asked. Ron reluctantly stepped aside and Charlie took his place.

What she saw was rather shocking. She saw a woman with shocking red hair, a man with jet black hair and bright green eyes. They were her parents, much better than a photograph of them. Charlie bit her lip and admitted that, more than anything, she wanted a family that treated her properly.

She was transfixed. She didn't want to move. She wanted to stay there, looking into the laughing eyes of her father and the gentle ones of her mother. Ron started nudging her, wanting another turn. Charlie wanted to snap at him, and was just about to when her logical side spoke up.

_It's not real._

Charlie blinked and stared at her desires. _It's not real..._no, it wasn't. It did not do well to dwell on something that wasn't real, nor would ever be real.

"Ron, let's go."

"But I want to stay!" Ron argued. "I finally stand out amongst my family!"

"But this isn't real!" Charlie tried to reason with Ron. "It's just a mirror that reflects your desires! They might not ever happen!"

A red flush crept along Ron's face. "Are you saying that I don't have the smarts to get the marks like you and Hermione? Are you saying I'm not good enough like the rest of my brothers?"

"I'm sure she's not implying that at all, Mr. Weasley."

The two kids nearly jumped out of their skins. Dread rose in Charlie's stomach as she turned around to face her Headmaster. His blue eyes were twinkling and she wondered if that was a good thing. Ron gulped and his red face turned white with fear.

"I-I-I-"was all he could stutter. Finally, he seemed to regain his speech and said, "I didn't see you there, sir."

"You're not the only one who can cast a Disillusionment Charm." This was directed at Charlie, who blushed.

Professor Dumbledore smiled at her before turning his gaze back to Ron. "Mr. Weasley, do you know what this mirror reflects?"

The redhead bit his lip. "Um...is it what Charlie said before, sir? Our desires?"

"Ah, a smart Ravenclaw you are." Dumbledore praised Charlie. "Yes, it shows us our deepest, desperate desires of the heart. You have stumbled upon the Mirror of Erised like many others before you. But you must not dwell on what you see. It does no good to strive for what might never be and forget to live."

Ron ducked his head in shame and Dumbledore smiled gently. "I can assure you Mr. Weasley, more experienced and older wizards than you have came across the mirror and gone mad trying to solve whether what they see is possible or not. What you want more than anything is to stand out-not be overshadowed by your brothers, correct?"

Stunned, Ron nodded. "Mr. Weasley, to say you will not ever become Head Boy is something we cannot decide at this very moment. But you can work for it, but do not obsess over it. You need not worry that you'll be lost in the hustle and bustle of your family-you stand out by being who you are."

"How-how did you know we were here?" Ron finally asked hesitantly.

"Madam Pince is in quite a tizzy." Dumbledore chuckled. "She alerted me as soon as the wards went off. But I'm afraid I'll have to report to her and say I couldn't find the intruders."

Ron looked confused for a moment before understanding. "Thank you sir. I really am sorry, sir."

"Just remember that the mirror shows us neither knowledge nor truth. I trust that you will have no need to find this Mirror again, so I shall be relocating it. And if you ever happen to stumble across it again, you will both be prepared. Now why don't you put on that remarkable cloak and scoot on back to bed?"

The two kids thanked their Headmaster, relieved that he overlooked their little midnight trip and did not question it. They had left the library when Irma Pince hurried into the abandoned room Dumbledore stood in. "Did you find them Albus?"

Albus smiled at her. "I assure you Madam that you have nothing to worry about. The 'intruders' are gone and will not come back after hours again."

Madam wanted to ask what he meant by that, but decided that he probably would not elaborate. She simply nodded curtly and headed back to bed.

Dumbledore peered at the Mirror and nodded thoughtfully. He had the perfect place to put it.

**Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**


	10. Mystery Solved

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Mystery Solved**

"They did _what?_" Minerva shouted in disbelief the next morning at breakfast. Dumbledore shushed her hastily and cast a quick glance at the Ravenclaw table to ensure Charlotte was not paying attention to them.

"Miss Potter and Mr. Ronald Weasley discovered the Mirror of Erised." Dumbledore whispered to McGonagall, pushing his eggs around his golden plate. "And the smart girl she is knew instantly that what she saw was not real, nor would ever be real."

"Did-did she see...?" McGonagall trailed off and cast a glance at the Hufflepuff table, where Harry Lupin was silently eating his breakfast.

"I assume not, for I am sure if she had I would have been assaulted with many inquiries." Dumbledore took a sip from his goblet, deep in thought. "Perhaps it would be wise if we explained the situation to her."

"Absolutely not!" Minerva hissed. "The poor girl just discovered she was the reason for the Dark Lord's defeat _and _his main target if he returns!"

"When he returns, Minerva," Albus corrected her. "I've no doubt about that."

"My point, Albus, is that if we are going to reveal anything to the girl, we need to consult with Remus Lupin. He has just a much a say in this than we do." Minerva insisted. "Besides, Potter is already good friends with Lupin. Perhaps it should stay that way for the time being."

Dumbledore sighed heavily before nodding. "Alright, Minerva. I shall respect your wishes and those of Remus. But one day, we will need to tell her the truth."

"_One _day, Albus." Minerva said firmly. "Potter only needs to know so much at this point in time."

...

"You did _what_?" Hermione hissed, her forkful of eggs clattering to her plate in shock. Charlie winced as the Ravenclaws around them turned to see what the problem was.

Hermione had just gotten back from her holidays last night and Charlie decided to let her best friend rest and tell her of their findings the next morning. She and Ron never got around to owling Hermione, as they both decided that venturing up to the Owlery was much too cold and not worth the effort.

"It was Ron's idea!" Charlie whispered defensively. "And Professor Dumbledore let us go afterwards..."

At Hermione's horrified expression, Charlie explained the whole story. After a moment's silence Hermione sighed. "That really was a stupid idea. I mean really, you could have just looked in _Hogwarts: A History_."

At Charlie's blank look Hermione groaned in exasperation. "Haven't you been paying attention to the information I've been telling you from that book?"

Charlie grinned sheepishly. Hermione huffily reached into her book bag and pulled out her worn volume of _Hogwarts: A History_. She flipped towards the desired section and propped it against the juice jug. Charlie blinked in surprise before leaning in and skimming the section curiously.

_**The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.**_

_**There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera-lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six-hundred and fifty-eight).**_

Charlie whistled. "Wow...that's impressive."

"I can't believe I didn't realize this before..." Hermione muttered. "Well, at least we know what Fluffy is guarding and why it's so important."

"But I still don't know if it's Snape or Quirrell who wants it..." Charlie mused thoughtfully, ignoring her plate of sausage and bacon. "Snape seems to have been bitten by Fluffy, but would a DADA Professor know how to get a troll inside the castle without anyone noticing?"

Hermione shrugged. "We'll worry about that later. We have homework to worry about."

"Hey, Charlie."

Charlie glanced up and greeted Scarlett as she approached the two. "What's up? You seem pretty glum."

"I just heard that Snape is refereeing the next Quidditch match." Scarlett moaned in despair. "And guess who we play in the next match?"

"Slytherins..." Charlie hissed through gritted teeth. She could just imagine what the outcome of the upcoming match would be. "This is going to be great."

The two Ravenclaws noticed Ron and Harry getting up to leave and they bid Scarlett goodbye before hurrying after them. Charlie quickly filled the two in on their discovery of the Philosopher's Stone and Ron groaned.

"That would have been helpful a few days ago!" He complained.

Harry chuckled. Ron had filled him in on their little library mishap earlier. "Well, you should have known Madame Pince would go to extreme measures to protect her library now."

"Well, I have bigger things to worry about right now than the Stone," Charlie muttered. "Snape is refereeing the next Quidditch match-us against Slytherin!"

"Break your leg." Harry and Ron said simultaneously. Hermione cuffed them both across the head.

...

"This is going to be the worst match _ever_!" Tommy complained as he reluctantly filed onto the pitch, midnight blue robes swaying in the breeze. "Can we just forfeit now?"

"What's the matter?" Aurora taunted. "Afraid of Snape?"

"Yes..." Eliza muttered, her grip tightening on her broomstick.

Scarlett whirled around to face them, her eyes wild. "Listen up! I want all of you to grow a backbone! Stevenson, if you even _think _about pulling a stupid stunt I'll make sure you fly laps until your butt gets permanently stuck to your broom! Lore, _please _don't punch any of the snakes in the face. Nickerson, _keep your mouth shut!_"

Not wanting to mess with their Captain while she was in this mood, the team nodded quickly. Charlie mounted her broom and took a deep breath. She could see Dumbledore in the staff stands and felt a bit more at ease. Surely he wouldn't let Snape harm her in any way.

Snape blew the whistle and everyone shot into the air. Charlie circled the pitch carefully, wanting to finish this match as soon as possible.

Suddenly a sharp whistle blast cut through the air and Snape bellowed, "Penalty to Slytherin!"

"It was an accident!" Danny howled as Marcus Flint accepted the Quaffle with a smirk. "I didn't mean to run into him!"

"You klutz!" Aurora snapped as Danny flew back after receiving one of Snape's deadly glares. Danny scowled, but didn't say anything. Eliza patted his back comfortingly.

Charlie rolled her green eyes and continued to circle the pitch. She booed softly under her breath when the penalty shot was successful. "Typical..."

A glint of gold caught her eye, right below where Snape was hovering. Without giving Higgs, the Slytherin Seeker, a chance to notice the Snitch himself, Charlie raced after it, heart pounding rapidly.

She nearly ploughed Snape over as she shot for the ground and caught the Snitch in her hand. Higgs hadn't even budged from his spot when she flew upwards, fist raised in triumph and grinning madly at the cheering she was receiving. After all, no one but the Slytherins wanted the snake team to win.

"Fifteen points for attempting to assault a teacher!" Snape hissed bitterly before flying away. Charlie rolled her eyes and was soon tackled in a team hug.

"That must have been the shortest match in history!" Eliza exclaimed.

"It was brilliant!" Danny agreed.

Scarlett was jumping up and down with excitement. "You are amazing! I love you!"

Charlie laughed and went into the Ravenclaw change room with the rest of her teammates. She stripped out of her Quidditch robes and slipped on her school robes. Hermione raced inside, beaming with glee. "That was brilliant!"

"Thanks!" Charlie grinned and looked past her. "Where are Ron and Harry?"

"Er...Malfoy and Parkinson were ganging up on Neville and Ron turned around and punched Malfoy in the face. McGonagall saw them from the Commentators Booth and immediately dragged them to her office. Harry and Pansy went along to explain the story. No doubt they'll be there awhile, considering there's no way Pansy and Malfoy will tell the truth."

"Yikes..." Charlie chuckled. "I don't think we'll be seeing them at dinner."

The two girls made their way back to the castle, starved. The rest of the team had already left and were no doubt indulging themselves on sweets. Charlie halted suddenly as a hooded figure hurried down the stone steps. The figure did not notice the two girls as they strode briskly into the Forbidden Forest.

"That walk looks familiar..." Hermione whispered. "It's almost like a prowl."

Charlie mounted her broom and narrowed her green eyes. "Snape."

"What are you doing?" Hermione demanded.

"I'm going; with or without you."

Hermione hesitated for a fraction of a second and climbed onto the broom behind Charlie. She cast a quick Disillusionment Charm and the two shot up into the air. Not accustomed to having more than one person on a broom, it took a bit for Charlie to get used to navigating through the chilly evening air.

The two girls could hear voices coming from the trees and slowly flew closer.

"This is a r-rather s-strange place to m-meet. Wouldn't you say S-Severus?" Quirrell's stuttering voice reached their strained ears.

"Not at all," came Snape's silky voice. "After all, no student should know about the Philosopher's Stone."

"I-Is that what t-this is a-about?"

"You let the troll into the castle, didn't you?" Snape demanded.

"I would never do s-such a thing!" Quirrell protested.

"You've been acting odd since the beginning of the semester." Snape growled. "And you conveniently happened to be perfectly fine when everyone left the Great Hall. I also happened to notice leaving the Third-Floor corridor a bit shaken. Care to explain?"

Quirrell's stuttering got so bad that neither Hermione nor Charlie could distinguish what he was saying. Snape cut him off, annoyed. "You Quirrell are pathetic. But I advise you to decide where your loyalties lie. You do not want me as an enemy. I _will _be chatting with you soon."

The two girls could hear no more voices and quickly flew back to the castle. Exchanging shocked looks as both had come to the same conclusion.

It had never been Snape that wanted the Stone; it was Quirrell all along.

...

"Are you sure?" Ron asked dubiously as the four spent as long as they could getting to their Common Rooms. "I mean, it's Quirrell! And you even said Snape's leg was bitten!"

"Perhaps Professor Snape was trying to make sure the Stone was still safe." Hermione pointed out. "And we heard the two of them perfectly clear. Professor Snape is suspicious of Quirrell."

"But what about Charlie's broom incident?" Harry questioned. "What happened then?"

Hermione thought back to that day. "When I went to stop Professor Snape, I accidently pushed Quirrell over! He must have lost his concentration and Charlie's broom stopped acting up!"

"But what was Snape mouthing then?" Ron demanded.

"For every jinx, there is a counter-jinx." Harry mused thoughtfully. "Well...I suppose it is possible. The crook is always the person you least expect."

Ron ran a hand through his ginger hair. "Well, _I _certainly wasn't expecting it."

Charlie furrowed her brow. "But why does my scar burn every time he looks at me?"

"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "But what I do know is that you can't go anywhere with Quirrell alone."

"Well, that's two mysteries solved I suppose." Ron ticked them off on his fingers. "We know what Fluffy is guarding and we know who is after it. But really, is Quirrell capable of breaking into Gringotts successfully?"

His friends could only shrug. Perhaps they still had one more mystery to solve...

**I'm going to say there's three or four chapters left. **

**Review please :)**


	11. Norbert the Dragon

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Norbert the Dragon**

"This is ridiculous," Ron muttered as he stared longingly out the library window. The weather outside was beautiful, with warm air and a crystal clear sky. And he was stuck inside, studying and doing homework! "Can't we take a break?"

"We just started!" Hermione exclaimed, not taking her eyes off of her Charms textbook. "Besides, exams are just around the corner and we must start getting prepared."

"Ten weeks is a long way away!" Ron argued.

"Yeah, but our Potions essay is due after the Easter holidays." Harry sighed heavily and continued to write on his piece of parchment. "Why do the teachers have to pile on so much homework _before _the holidays?"

The redhead continued to peer outside wistfully. "Well...how about you three study by the lake while I goof off?"

Hermione paused for a moment, thinking this over. "I suppose we could do that." She agreed. "But try not to be so distracting, alright?"

Charlie chuckled at Ron's eagerness and the four trooped out into the warm sunlight. Ron happily started skipping stones across the clear water while the other lounged in the lush grass to continue their studying.

Snowy joined the eleven-year olds moments later and rubbed against Charlie's ankle. Charlie looked down in surprise to see Snowy had a piece of parchment in her mouth. "What have you got there?" Charlie questioned curiously and removed the piece of parchment.

_Dear Charlie,_

_I couldn't find you or the others in the castle, but I did your cat here. So I sent her to go looking for you. I'd be very grateful if you could stop in immediately. I need your help. Please bring Hermione, Ron and Harry if they do not mind._

_Hagrid_

"That doesn't sound good." Harry said nervously.

"Clever cat!" Charlie praised, scratching Snowflake fondly on the head. "Well, Hagrid needs our help, so we better go give it to him."

Hermione sighed in annoyance but got up and packed her books away. Ron looked thoughtful as they made the trek to Hagrid's hut. "Gee, I wonder what Hagrid needs our help for."

"If he needs our help with anything along the lines of 'take Fluffy for a walk', I'm gone." Harry warned his companions. "I mean it!"

Charlie approached the wooden door and knocked. "Hagrid! It's us!"

The door flew open and the large man ushered them inside quickly. His eyes darted about before closing the door firmly behind them. "I'm glad you came!"

"What's wrong Hagrid?" Hermione asked worriedly. Ron peered around Hagrid's hut and froze when his blue eyes fell upon something strange boiling in a pot above a crackling fire in the fireplace.

"Hagrid!" He moaned, burying his face in his hands. "You didn't!"

"Didn't what?" Harry asked anxiously, trying to keep Fang at bay. "What's the matter?"

Ron pointed a shaky finger at the round black egg simmering in the pot. "Hagrid got himself a dragon!"

"Hagrid!" Charlie, Hermione and Harry cried in unison.

Hagrid nervously twisted his hands. "I've always wanted a dragon!" He protested feebly. "An' now I got one!"

"But what do you need _our _help for?" Hermione asked cautiously, afraid of the answer.

"I'm not taking it for a walk!" Harry hollered, backing away from the egg. "I'm not feeding it either!"

Charlie sighed and rubbed a hand down her face. "When is it going to hatch?"

"Er...'bout now."

The kids groaned and stared warily at the egg. Ron eyed the stack of books on Hagrid's table and browsed the titles. "Dragon Training books?" He muttered in disbelief. "This is worse than Fluffy!"

"It's moving!" Harry hissed suddenly, staring in horror as the black egg began to shake a bit. Hagrid beamed happily and quickly scooped up the egg and deposited it on the table. Ron scrambled away and shuddered.

Everyone watched as the egg slowly began to crack. Harry then let out a yelp of fear when a skinny body with bulging orange eyes, stubs of horns and a long snout emerged from the now-shattered egg. "What kind of dragon is it?" He asked nervously.

Ron studied the dragon thoughtfully. "It appears to be a Norwegian Ridgeback." When everyone stared at him in disbelief he held up his hands in defense. "What? My brother works with dragons! I ought to know _some _things."

"Isn't he wonderful?" Hagrid asked joyfully, gently stroking the dragon's back and pulling his finger away when the dragon tried to bite him. "No, bad Norbert! Don't bite yer Mummy!"

"_Norbert?" _ Harry mouthed. Ron bit his knuckles to keep from laughing and Hermione just cradled her head in her hands.

"Do you know how big a dragon gets?" Ron asked Hagrid when he managed to control himself. "Especially a Norwegian Ridgeback? Hagrid, you _know _you can't keep a dragon on school grounds."

Hagrid looked devastated. "But-"

"Please, Hagrid!" Hermione enthused. "Ron's brother Charlie works with dragons! I'm sure he'll be able to find Norbert a good home."

Hagrid hesitated, but nodded. "I suppose yer right...don' know what I was thinkin'."

"Just keep Norbert a secret until Charlie gives us an answer." Ron instructed Hagrid. "We'll be back tonight to see how it's going."

"Are you crazy?" Charlie hissed as they left Hagrid's hut. "We need to tell a teacher!"

"We don't want Hagrid to get in trouble." Ron said firmly. "I'll go up to the Owlery right away and ask him what we should do."

Charlie and Hermione exchanged looks. "Good luck," Hermione muttered.

"We'll cover for you, but we won't take part in your 'smuggle out a dragon' plan." Charlie agreed.

"Fine!" Ron slung an arm around Harry. "Harry will help me! Won't you Harry?"

"I-I g-guess s-so," he stammered. "But do I h-have to?"

"Yes. Yes you do."

...

The rest of the day went by with Hermione and Charlie doing their school work while Ron sent off a letter to his brother. Charlie wondered if she should interfere, but decided that the two of them should just stay out of it. Ron probably knew what he was doing.

Well, that's what she thought until dinner came around the next evening. She and Hermione were eating some roast when Harry flew into the Great Hall, brown eyes wide and face pale. "Ron's in the infirmary!" He hissed frantically, nearly collapsing by his two friends. "The stupid thing bit him and now I'm all by myself! I can't do this alone!"

Charlie hushed him and pulled him down by the neck of his robes so the three of them could converse in private. "You need to calm down!" Charlie snapped. "Now, what happened to Ron?"

"He and I went to tell Hagrid the good news. Charlie responded right away and he said that some friends would come pick up the dragon at the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday! Hagrid started blubbering, and then asked Ron to help feed Norbert. Then the dragon bit him!" Harry explained in a rush.

Hermione gasped softly. "Is he alright?"

"His hand swelled up and is turning green and purple, but I got him to Madame Pomfrey as fast as I could. I think she's suspicious..."

"I wouldn't blame her..." Charlie muttered.

"Anyway, the problem is that now I don't have anyone to help me carry the dragon to the tallest tower tomorrow night!" Harry clasped his hands together and looked at them both desperately. "Please help me out!"

"I really think you should inform Professor Dumbledore of what's going on." Charlie insisted.

"But then Hagrid will get into trouble!" Harry exclaimed. "I know Dumbledore's nice and all, but even he would have to be strict on this matter!"

Charlie groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel a headache coming on. "I'll tell you what; if Ron doesn't feel better by tomorrow, then I'll give you a hand."

Harry nearly cried with relief. "Thank you! Thank you! You're the best friend ever!" The boy then quickly turned around and booked it from the Great Hall, no doubt to check on Ron.

...

"What do you think that was all about?" Draco asked as the pathetic Hufflepuff ran from the Hall again. The three had been whispering for quite a while, and it seemed urgent.

"Let's go find out." Pansy snickered and the two snakes quickly hurried after the Hufflepuff. Hermione and Charlie did not notice their sudden absence.

...

"Charlie said that if your hand doesn't get better by tomorrow night, she'll help me smuggle out the dragon!" Harry whispered gleefully to Ron, who was resting in one of the beds and looking very pale.

"I'm sure I'll be fine by tomorrow." Ron insisted. He held up his bandaged hand, which was indeed decreasing in size as the swelling went down. "Tell Hagrid to have Norbert all ready for Saturday night. We need to be at the tallest tower as soon as possible."

The two were not aware of the snakes that were eavesdropping outside the infirmary door. "Did you hear that?" Draco asked joyfully."They're going to smuggle out a dragon!"

"And we'll be there to catch them in the act." Pansy snickered. "I can't wait to see Potter's face when she finds out her little friends have been expelled! It'll be even better if it's Potter herself!"

"And that oaf will be fired!" Malfoy added with a cackle.

It was almost too good to be true.

...

Harry was much too anxious to focus on his classes that Saturday. Hermione managed to prevent him from blowing up his cauldron in Potions at least three times. "For heaven's sake, pay attention!" She had hissed at him.

The Hufflepuff winced and quickly corrected the order of ingredients. Snape prowled down the rows, eyeing each cauldron critically and insulting everyone but his two snakes. Snape had decided that Charlie was too incompetent to brew with anyone and was moved to a secluded corner. Since her last cauldron got all mangled, she had to use a spare until hers was repaired.

Harry cast a glance in the corner. Charlie had avoided him all class. She seemed to know that Ron was still held up in the infirmary. He absent-mindedly went to add an ingredient to his potion and yelped in surprise when Hermione grabbed his wrist.

"For the _last time, stop trying to blow us all to bits!_"

To his relief, Potions ended with the ringing bell and he raced after Charlie. The raven-haired girl looked up reluctantly when he approached. "Please tell me you're not going back on your word!" Harry begged, hands clasped in front of him.

Charlie let out a weary sigh. "Let's go check on Ron and see how he is, alright?"

The three made their way to the infirmary and found Ron in a heated argument with Madame Pomfrey.

"But I feel fine!" Ron protested, struggling to get out of bed. "Really ma'am, I'm okay!"

"Will you sit still?" Pomfrey snapped, flicking her wand. Ron was pulled back into bed and he groaned loudly. "Don't give me that tone, Mr. Weasley! I have no idea what happened to your hand, and you _say _you have no clue. How do I know it's not contagious?"

"It's not!" Ron wailed, desperate to escape the stern medic-witch. "I'm pretty sure it's just a bite of some sorts! A bite isn't contagious!"

Pomfrey frowned suspiciously. "What on earth could have bitten you? Your hand was the size of a balloon when you were brought here!"

Ron's hand was looking much better indeed. It had gone down in size and the colour was slowly turning back to his pale skin tone.

"I don't know what bit me!" Ron lied. "But it's looking much better, see? _Please _let me out!"

Pomfrey pursed her lips before slowly nodding. "If you want to go back to your friends so badly Mr. Weasley-" Here she gestured towards the amused group by the door. "-then fine. But the second it starts acting up again I expect to see you immediately."

Ron agreed quickly and raced over to his friends. The four started down the corridor and Ron breathed a sigh of relief. "Blimey! I thought she'd never let me out of there."

"Do you think she knows?" Harry asked nervously.

Hermione shook her head. "I'm sure Madame Pomfrey would have sent Ron to the Headmaster if she did."

The brown-eyed boy nodded before turning hopefully towards Ron. "Does that mean you're all ready for tonight?"

"You bet!" Ron grinned. "I'll meet at Hagrid's after dark. Charlie, can we borrow you're Invisibility Cloak?"

"Alright," Charlie agreed hesitantly. "But I hope you two know what you're doing."

"Nothing will go wrong." Ron said confidently.

"KNOCK ON WOOD!"

...

Night came much too quickly for Harry's liking. Charlie handed him the Cloak after dinner and wished him luck. She was just relieved she wasn't the one who had to help smuggle out a dragon. Hermione had attempted one last effort to convince him to tell the Headmaster, but Harry decided to just go along with the plan. They were already in deep enough.

Harry kept the Cloak pressed around him as he tiptoed down the corridors. He found Ron hiding behind a statue near the Great Hall and the two hurried towards Hagrid's hut. Ron rapped his knuckles on the large wooden door and hissed, "Hagrid! It's us!"

The large man opened the door and looked around nervously. "I really appreciate ya doin' this, yeh two."

Ron removed the Cloak off of him and Harry and smiled. "It's no problem." He noticed a bunch of scratches on Hagrid's hands and scowled. "Sure, Norbert _scratches _you, but bites _me_."

Harry and Ron carefully picked up the crate Norbert was packed in. Hagrid placed the Cloak back over them and sobbed. "Mummy will miss yeh, Norbert!"

The two quickly bid Hagrid goodbye and left the man to his blubbering. Lugging a crate with a restless dragon down the corridors and up a long flight of stairs was no easy task. Harry yelped when Norbert jerked in his crate and caused him to stumble back a step. "Ron! He's trying to push me down the stairs!"

"Don't be paranoid!" Ron snapped and they managed to pull the crate the rest of the way. He scanned the dark sky with blue eyes and let out a sigh of relief as he spotted two figures in the distance.

"Hullo there!" A cheerful male said as he and his pal landed. "I hear you got a dragon for us?"

Ron grinned and gestured towards the crate between him and Harry. "Yup. A baby Norwegian Ridgeback."

The other male whistled. "Impressive. Well, we'll take 'em off your hands for you. I gotta say, you're pretty brave for lugging that thing around the castle at night."

"It was no problem." Ron watched as the two put the crate in a harness that was attached to the brooms. "Thanks again!"

The two males waved goodbye and flew off. Harry let out a breath he had not known he was holding. "Phew! Glad that's over with."

"_What do you two think you're doing_?"

The two boys whirled around in horror. Harry paled upon seeing a furious McGonagall standing in front of the tower exit, nostrils flaring. She had Draco and Pansy (where did they come from?) by the arms and the two snakes weren't happy.

"We-we-we-"Harry stammered, cowering behind Ron. "We were just stargazing." How was it possible McGonagall was even more intimidating in bed robes?

McGonagall narrowed her eyes. "These two here seem to think you're smuggling out a dragon!"

"They are!" Pansy insisted.

"Look at Weasley's hand!" Draco added quickly.

Ron blinked innocently. "My hand? I don't know what happened to it. Maybe I had a cut and some of my potion ingredients leaked in during brewing. As for this dragon stuff, how on earth would we smuggle out a dragon? Actually, where would we get a dragon?"

"They're lying!" Pansy cried. "I overheard them, I swear! They-"

"So!" McGonagall snapped. "You two thought it would be funny if you tricked these Slytherins into a wild goose hunt! Thought it would be funny if they made a fool of themselves tracking down a teacher and spoke nonsense about a dragon."

"Yes ma'am." Ron admitted. "But it backfired on us. We didn't hide in time."

Harry was slightly impressed by Ron's ability to lie.

"This is ridiculous! This was very petty of you Mr. Weasley. And Mr. Lupin, I am surprised at you for being involved in such a thing! And you two! You Slytherins aren't off the hook either. Sneaking out of bed and prowling around the castle!"

"But they had a dragon-"Draco tried desperately.

"Enough!" McGonagall snapped. "To bed with all of you! We'll discuss this appalling behaviour tomorrow morning, after breakfast!"

...

"So," Hermione said sarcastically as the group of friends went to breakfast the next morning. "Nothing would go wrong, huh?"

Ron flushed. He had just finished telling the two girls how their plan went. "Well...the dragon is safe and so is Hagrid. McGonagall doesn't believe we ever had a dragon and it was just an elaborate prank that backfired."

Charlie crossed her arms and scowled. "And you didn't even give me back my Cloak!"

"Sorry!" Harry apologized. "We'll go back and get it after McGonagall is through with us, I promise!"

Ron managed to wolf down three scrambled eggs and four pieces of toast despite his nervous stomach. He had just downed a second glass of milk when Professor McGonagall descended from the High Table. She nodded curtly at him and the ginger reluctantly stood up.

Fred whistled. "What did you do now Ronnie?"

"None of your business!" Ron snapped as he followed McGonagall out of the Hall. Harry hurried after him.

The two boys entered McGonagall's office. "What about the two snakes?" Ron asked as he and Harry stood in front of her desk.

"Professor Snape has already dealt with them." McGonagall said sharply. "Their punishment is none of your concern. Mr. Weasley, I am very disappointed in you. What you did last night was petty and childish."

Ron ducked his head. McGonagall continued. "Mr. Lupin, Professor Sprout has given her permission for me to handle your punishment. But she said to expect a visit from her later on in the day."

Harry winced.

"I will be taking fifty points from both of you."

"Fifty points!" Ron cried. "But Professor-"

"I will take away more if you continue to throw a tantrum like a child!" McGonagall snapped. Ron fell silent. "As I was saying, fifty points from the both of you and I will send you your detention information when I arrange it. If you ever pull something like this again, the punishments will be much more severe."

Ron and Harry sulked out of her office and winced. "Well..." Ron said finally. "It could have been more than fifty points."

Harry groaned. "Hufflepuff is already in last place! My Housemates are going to kill me..."

Ron patted him comfortingly on the back. "I'm sure they'll get over it. Besides, Ravenclaw is almost catching up to Slytherin. As long as the Slytherins don't win the House Cup, everything will be fine."

"How much do you want to bet Pansy and Draco didn't get _any _points taken away?" Harry muttered. "In fact, I bet their detention is nothing but an extra foot on an essay or something."

"Hey, as long as we don't have to serve detention with them." Ron pointed out.

"True," Harry agreed. "We better go get Charlie's Cloak."

The two boys sprinted for the tower they had left the Cloak. When they reached the very top, Harry clasped his hands to his face in horror. "Oh...no."

Charlie's Cloak was gone.

...

After a quick coin toss, it was Ron that had the honours of telling Charlie what had happened to her beloved Cloak.

She had not taken the news well.

Her cursing was so loud it actually attracted McGonagall all the way from the Transfiguration corridor. When the Gryffindor Head rounded the corner, she witnessed Charlie trying to tackle Ron, who was cowering behind a panicked Harry. Hermione was doing everything she could to keep Charlie back and shouting at the two boys.

"ENOUGH!"

The four kids froze and stared with wide eyes. McGonagall placed her hands on her hips and glared at them. "I don't know what's gotten into all of you, but it _will _cease! Potter, Granger, the two of you can join Weasley and Lupin for their detention. I will not hear such language from either of you! Understood?"

The two girls nodded, faces red. When McGonagall left, Charlie scowled angrily.

"I should have helped you smuggle out the dragon. It wouldn't have mattered in the end, anyways!"


	12. Detention and WHAT IS THAT?

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Detention and WHAT IS THAT?**

Charlie and Hermione had just finished their Charms essay when a large barn owl swooped into the Common Room and landed on the table they were occupying. Hermione wrinkled her nose at the piece of parchment the owl had in its beak. "I bet it's our detention assignment."

Charlie reluctantly took the parchment from the owl's beak and the owl flew away. Snowy watched it fly off and wriggled a bit. "Don't even think about it!" Charlie warned her cat and unfolded the piece of parchment. "Fantastic..."

"What is it?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"We have to meet Filch outside the trophy room at eleven o'clock tonight." Charlie crumpled the parchment and tossed it in the crackling fire. Due to the chilly weather most of the Ravenclaws kept the fire going throughout the day. It was only put out when no one was around to tend to it.

Hermione looked at her watch. "Well, it's almost dinner. Do you think Ron and Harry will try apologizing again?"

"I don't care how much they apologize! That Cloak was a gift and it belonged to my Dad!"

"You did say they could use it knowing exactly what they intended to use it for." Hermione pointed out. "And they are genuinely sorry."

Charlie sighed, knowing her bushy-haired best friend was right. "I suppose so. Fine, I'll forgive them. But I expect one heck of a birthday present."

The two packed up their books and tossed them into their dorms before hurrying to the Great Hall for supper. When they entered Charlie could see Ron watching her anxiously, almost as if he expected her to fire a hex at him.

She might have done so if they weren't in front of the High Table and if she actually knew any hexes.

Hermione furrowed her brow as they started to collect food onto their golden plates. "I wonder why our detention is so late at night."

"It doesn't sound like it'll be pleasant." Charlie agreed. "I bet Pansy and Draco got off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist."

It was then a lone owl swooped into the Great Hall. Many pairs of eyes followed it curiously and watched as it landed in front of Ron. It was not often that owls made deliveries during lunch or dinner.

"Errol?" Fred said in disbelief as the old owl landed sloppily in front of him and Ron. "George, have we done anything to warrant a Howler recently?"

George looked thoughtful. "No Fred, I don't believe so."

Ron however was stark white. He stared in horror at the High Table. Professor McGonagall simply arched an eyebrow, as if to say, _Oh yeah. I went there._

"What's that red envelope he's got?" Charlie whispered to Hermione, who happened to know more about the Wizarding world than she did.

Hermione had two hands clapped over her mouth. "That's a Howler!" She exclaimed, barely being able to contain her amusement.

"What's a Howler?"

"You'll see."

Ron was now staring at the envelope in agony. Neville looked at the redhead in pity. "Just get it over with mate. It'll just be worse if you don't."

The Howler was indeed beginning to have smoke curl outwards from the flap. Fred and George were giggling madly, eager to see another member of their family receive a Howler for a change. Percy was simply shaking his head in disapproval.

Squeezing his blue eyes shut, Ron shot out a hand and tore the Howler open before it could explode.

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY!" A voice that Charlie correctly guessed to be Mrs. Weasley's boomed throughout the Hall. Everyone stopped eating to stare at the mortified ginger in amusement.

"HOW _DARE_ YOU DO SOMETHING SO STUPID! I KNOW I RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THAT! SNEAKING OUT OF BED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND PROWLING AROUND THE CASTLE JUST TO GET SOME OTHER STUDENTS IN TROUBLE? YOU OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF YOUNG MAN!"

Ron was now staring at the doors that led from the Hall desperately. Would he be able to make an escape?

The look on Professor McGonagall's face told him it wouldn't be a wise idea.

"IF I EVER GET ANOTHER OWL FROM PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL SAYING YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING IDIOTIC LIKE THIS AGAIN, YOU'LL REGRET IT! I EXPECT BETTER THINGS FROM YOU RONALD! I WANT TO YOU TO START TAKING A PAGE FROM PERCY'S BOOK INSTEAD OF THE TWINS'!"

At this Percy shot the twins a smug smile and Fred and George quit their hysterical laughter to glare at the Howler, offended. "Hang on!"

"BEHAVE RONALD, OR YOU WON'T LIKE THE CONSEQUENCES!"

The Howler shred itself into tiny pieces and Ron buried his red face in his hands. The entire Hall shook from the laughter, the Slytherins laughing the loudest of course.

A crackle of purple fireworks calmed everyone down. Albus peered at his students and smiled. "Now that we've had our fun, I think it's time we settled down and eat, shall we?"

The students obeyed and went back to their previous conversations. Charlie stared at Ron, wide-eyed. "So...that's a Howler."

"Fun?" Ron muttered as he dug back into his food. "I don't see how that was fun at all!"

...

Albus Dumbledore gave Minerva McGonagall an amused glance. "Did you have to sic Molly Weasley on the poor boy?"

Minerva smirked. "I wanted to make sure Weasley would not turn out like his twin terror brothers. Stop it before it starts, I say."

"It would be easier for us all if we just expelled the boy now," Severus drawled. Minerva snorted.

"Please Severus. You want every student expelled so you can take over the school with an army of Slytherin snakes."

"That's actually not a bad idea. And I don't want to expel _every _student. Just all of the Gryffindors. And a few of the Ravenclaws that have big heads...and perhaps a few Hufflepuff that can't seem to stop shaking."

Severus hastily went back to his dinner as his fellow Heads of House gave him death glares.

...

The four kids filed out of the castle at quarter past eleven. The bitter caretaker led them towards the dark forest and Harry frantically poked Ron in the side. "We're not going in _there _are we?"

Filch cackled. "You certainly are! Maybe this'll teach you brats to behave, eh? I got some punishments that'll ensure that you do if Professor Dumbledore ever needs suggestions."

Ron kept Harry upright as they reached the outskirts of the forest. The sky was pitch black and the Forbidden Forest looked ominous and everything other than inviting. All four were extremely relieved to hear Hagrid call out, "There yeh are!" The large man gave Filch a pointed look.

Filch cast them a glare before staggering off, muttering under his breath. Harry stared at Hagrid with wide brown eyes. "Are we really going in there?"

"Don' worry! Everything will be perfectly fine!" Hagrid assured them. Ron arched an eyebrow at the crossbow he carried but didn't say anything. Fang panted happily upon seeing his favourite people and wagged his tail.

"What are we going to be doing?" Charlie asked. She felt better that it was Hagrid that would be watching them. She knew Hagrid would never let anything happen to them, and Dumbledore trusted him greatly.

Hagrid looked solemn. He raised his lantern higher in the air so the kids could see the long, twisting dirt path that led into the Forest clearly. Hermione gasped upon seeing a thin trail of silvery substance. "Unicorn blood!"

"That's right. Summat bins killin' the unicorns in the Forest. I don' know what, but we have ta find the poor thing and maybe put it out of its misery."

Harry stared at Hagrid in shock. "But what would kill a unicorn? Killing a unicorn is a horrible thing!"

Hagrid was grim. "Whatever it is, its bin drinkin' there blood."

Charlie and Hermione gasped and clapped their hands over their mouths. Ron turned a greenish colour and looked like he wanted to barf. "But why?" Ron rasped. "Why would anyone do such a thing?"

"Ron, unicorn's blood can keep a person alive, no matter how close to death you are. But if you slay such a beautiful creature to save yourself, you'll have a half-life that's cursed the second the blood touches your lips." Hermione whispered in horror. "It's a terrible thing!"

Charlie gulped and nervously peered into the Forest. "What if the thing hunting the unicorns comes and hunts us?"

"Nothin' will happen to yeh as long as Fang and I are with ya." Hagrid promised. "We'll split in ta two parties; one can have Fang and the other will come with me."

"We can take Fang," Ron offered, bending down and scratching the dog's ears. "Is that okay with you girls?"

Hermione and Charlie nodded, touched that the boys were willing to go off by themselves with Fang and leave them with Hagrid. Hagrid shouldered his crossbow and instructed, "It'll be dangerous, what we're doin'. If yer in trouble, send up some red sparks. Stick to the path, alright boys?"

Ron and Harry nodded and set off down one section of the path with Fang bounding after them. Charlie and Hermione followed Hagrid down the other pathway.

...

"This is really freaking me out," Harry whispered as he and Ron crept through the Forest, eyes darting about and jumping at every rustle in the bushes.

"We'll be fine!" Ron soothed, fingering his wand and making sure Fang was still with them. "Just follow the blood trail. I can't believe how much blood was spilled..."

A sudden rustling sound in the bushes next to them caused Harry to crash into Ron in fear. The redhead accidently dropped his wand and hastily bent down to collect it. Whatever was in the bush was coming closer and the two boys were beginning to panic.

"What have we here?" A soft voice asked.

Ron and Harry stared with wide-eyes as a centaur emerged from the foliage. He had a chestnut body with a long reddish tail. His face sported a red beard and hair. "H-Hello," Harry stammered.

"Good evening to you as well. What are two students doing in the Forest alone at night? It's very dangerous..."

"We're serving our detention." Ron said nervously. He had never seen a centaur before. "We're not alone; we have Fang with us..." He reached back and patted Fang on the head to ensure the dog was still there. "And Hagrid-I don't know if you know him-is out here somewhere. I'm sorry if we disturbed you."

"Not at all. Just stargazing..." He peered up at the twinkling silver stars. "**Mars is bright tonight**."

Ron and Harry exchanged quizzical glances. The centaur turned to look at them once more. "You're with Hagrid, you say?"

"Yes sir." Harry spoke. "You see, there's been something out here killing unicorns for its blood and we've come to find the one that's been recently attacked. Do you know where we might find it? Have you seen what this thing might be?"

"A monstrous thing..." The centaur said softly. "To slay a unicorn for its blood is a terrible price for what will happen to them. But perhaps they deserve it..."

Ron cleared his throat. "We haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Ron Weasley. This is my friend, Harry Lupin."

"And I am Ronan. I'm afraid I know nothing about the unicorn slayings. I suggest you continue on. The light you have seems to be fading."

Ron looked at the lantern Hagrid had given him and noticed that it was indeed starting to go out. "Thank you anyway, sir." The two boys and boarhound continued their way down the path. Harry handed Ron his wand.

"That was interesting." He commented.

"I've never met a centaur before." Ron remarked. "That was pretty wicked." The two boys reached the clearing the path led to. Harry gasped when he spotted the bright white unicorn lying on the ground, dead. "Gee...that's an awful thing to happen to such a beautiful creature. How are we going to alert Hagrid without attracting the thing-"

"Ssh!" Harry suddenly hissed. He could hear a strange sound coming from nearby-the sound of a cloak being dragged against the forest floor. He and Ron exchanged horrified glances as they both came to the assumption that it was the thing come to drink the unicorn's blood.

Ron hastily extinguished their lantern and the two boys stood still in terror. They could dimly make out a figure in a cloak stalk towards the fallen unicorn. Fang whimpered and took off. "Coward!" Ron moaned, shrinking against Harry.

"Should we put up the sparks?" Harry whispered anxiously, watching in disgust and terror as the thing bent down and began to drink the unicorn's blood.

"I don't know!" Ron cried. It was louder cry, and the thing whirled around, silvery blood dripping down its front.

They had been spotted.

...

Everything had been going fine for Charlie and Hermione. They had spotted nothing on their trip and were slowly beginning to relax. Then the strangest thing happened to Charlie.

A feeling of pure terror wrenched through her gut. She crumbled to the forest floor in agony, clutching her stomach and moaning. Hermione gasped and rushed over to assist her. "Hagrid!" She cried. "Oh Charlie! What's wrong?"

Charlie felt the fear race through her system. But why was she so frightened? She was perfectly fine...

_Harry._

She could see him-or was she feeling him? Harry was in danger and she didn't know how she knew, she just did. And the scary thing was she knew exactly where to find him.

Without thinking she hastily got up and sprinted through the trees, straying from the path and racing for Harry and Ron. Hermione attempted to follow her but was pulled back by a very worried Hagrid.

"What's wrong? Where's Charlie goin'?"

"I-I don't know!" Hermione nervously wrung her hands. What had gotten into Charlie?

...

Thankfully, Charlie was closer to the two boys than she had thought. She immediately burst from the thicket in time to catch a hunched figure draped in a cloak swoop towards the fear-stricken males. Charlie stumbled in front of them, her mind cloudy and confused, and cast a hasty spell towards the creature. It jumped backwards and seemed to hiss at her. Charlie would have continued her assault if it hadn't been for the sudden pain searing through her scar.

Crying out, Charlie crumpled to the ground and cursed herself for her stupidity. What had she been thinking?

Before the thing could attack the three students, something galloped for them and charged for the figure. It immediately retreated, disappearing back into the Forest. Ron and Harry hurried to assist Charlie.

"Are you crazy?" Harry exclaimed. "That thing could have killed you!"

"It could have killed you!" Charlie retorted, holding her pounding head. "Why didn't you do anything?"

"We were scared out of our wits!" Ron defended. "And how did you even know where we were?"

To be honest, Charlie had no idea. "I-I don't know. I mean, I don't know how it happened...I'll explain later..."

The three looked up in gratitude at the palomino centaur with white-blonde hair. Charlie was awed; she (like Ron, Hermione and Harry) had never seen a centaur before. "Thank you for saving us."

"It was no trouble. Are you all alright?" The centaur questioned, peering at them with bright blue eyes.

"Yes, thank you." Harry was still a bit shaky. Charlie pushed aside her bangs and took a deep breath. The centaur caught sight of her scar; it stood out like beacon.

"You are the Potter girl..." He spoke softly. "It is not safe for you to be out here at this time." He turned to stare at the two males. "Can you carry her? She is in no condition to be moving around."

Charlie was indeed in an awful condition. She was pale, sweaty, shaky and having trouble breathing properly. Ron and Harry immediately picked Charlie up between the two of them and carefully carried her from the area with the centaur walking protectively behind them.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron said, feeling strange introducing himself to a centaur for the second time that night.

"I'm Harry Lupin." Harry said weakly. The excitement of the night was getting to be too much.

"And you already know who I am." Charlie managed to get out. "But I'll say it anyway. I'm Charlotte Potter. But you can call me Charlie."

"Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. I am Firenze."

"There yeh are!"

Hagrid rushed forwards down the path with Hermione right behind him. He took one look at Charlie being carried by the two boys and frowned worriedly. "What happened?"

"We kind of encountered the thing that's been drinking unicorn's blood..." Harry shuddered. "Charlie came out of nowhere and tried to save us, but then she fell to the ground and Firenze saved us!"

"Thank yeh," Hagrid said gratefully to the centaur. "I'll take care o' 'em now."

Firenze nodded. "Then I shall get back to my herd. **Good luck Charlotte Potter. The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times.**"

The four kids stared at each other in confusion. Hagrid did not give them time to dwell on it, for he instantly glared sternly at Charlie and barked, "What were yeh thinkin'? Runnin' off by yerself in the Forest! Yeh could have bin killed! Yeh almost were killed! An' yeh two!"

Ron and Harry winced at Hagrid's stern look. "Why didn' yeh send up the sparks if yeh were in trouble?"

"We...weren't thinking." Harry admitted, ashamed.

"I'm really sorry for scaring you Hagrid." Charlie spoke up, beginning to feel better.

Hagrid eyed all of them before sighing. "Don' do that teh me again. I'd be very upset if summat happened to yeh. Now stay right here; I'm gonna take a look at the unicorn."

"Be careful!" Hermione whispered as Hagrid left. She then glared at Charlie and crossed her arms. "What on earth got into you?" She demanded.

Charlie explained the sudden feeling she had gotten and how she had been able to find Harry and Ron. "I don't know what happened..." She said in confusion. "It was so weird."

The others had no explanation. "You fell to the ground," Ron noted. "Was your scar hurting?"

"Yeah..." Charlie frowned. "It's only ever done that when-"

They all gasped. "Quirrell..." Hermione whispered, stunned. "But why would Quirrell need to drink unicorn's blood?"

"Why would he?" Harry scratched his head, completely puzzled. "He's alive and seems nowhere near death."

"...Ron," Charlie said suddenly. "What's one of the rumours that surround Quirrell and his stutter?"

Ron thought for a moment. His brothers had told me many theories. "Well, the popular one is that he went to Albania on a mission for Dumbledore-something about ridding Dark Magic from the area-and when he came back, he developed a stutter and acted weird."

Charlie could feel her heart pounding. "When was the last supposed Dark Lord sighting?"

Ron stared at her in shock. "Why do you want to know-?"

"Ron!"

"Okay! Some say it was Albania-oh no!"

Hermione slapped her palm to her forehead. "What do you mean, 'oh no'? How on earth does this make sense?"

"Charlie's got a point!" Ron exclaimed. "Her scar hurts whenever she looks at Quirrell; her scar hurt when that thing came for us. Who would be desperate enough to drink unicorn's blood? The person that's the closest to death as an immortal being can be!"

"Voldemort is immortal?" Hermione asked in surprise.

Ron flinched at the name and Charlie looked at Hermione in admiration. She was getting tired of being the only person that called him by his name. "Well, that's what many people say. The story is he went through so many magical transformations that he lost his mortality."

"But how can Quirrell and You-Know-Who be the same person?" Harry questioned.

They fell silent. "Do you think we should tell someone?" Ron finally asked.

"We don't even know if what we think we know is true!" Hermione snapped. "I'm sure Hagrid will tell Professor Dumbledore what happened tonight."

Charlie bit her lip. Something strange was going on...and she had a feeling she would be a part of it really soon.

That is, if she wasn't a part of it already.

**Happy New Year guys!**


	13. Down the Trapdoor

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Down the Trapdoor**

Dumbledore regarded Charlotte over pressed fingers the next morning at breakfast. Hagrid had visited him very early that morning with an urgent message. Three out of the four children caught out of bed after curfew had encountered the beast drinking unicorn's blood during their detention. If that didn't concern him enough, Hagrid also told him Charlotte fell to the ground in pain before racing off by herself without an explanation.

She had raced off to find Harry, who was in danger along with Ronald.

He had been puzzling over this since dawn. How did Charlotte know where to find Harry? Furthermore, how did she know he was in danger?

He furrowed his brow, deep in thought. This was a rather interesting development. It seemed some sort of magical bond had formed between the two.

_But how?_

He would find out. But for now he had more pressing matters to attend to. Like the very great possibility of Voldemort being so close to the castle...and trying desperately to regain life once more.

...

"You're forgiven." Charlie announced to Ron as she, Hermione and he headed for Charms. Ron cast her a puzzled look and she elaborated. "I found my Cloak underneath my sheets last night. Don't ask me how it got there; I have no clue."

"It's just one weird thing after another, isn't it?" Ron muttered as the three claimed their usual table in the front of the classroom.

Charlie had to agree. But the sudden reappearance of her Cloak was the least strange thing to be happening to her this week. The top two were the strange sensation she had gotten when Harry was in danger, and the second was the supposed connection between Quirrell and Voldemort.

Hermione agreed that there was a chance that Quirrell was working for Voldemort inside the castle and was going to steal the Stone for him. She also said it was probably Voldemort they had seen in the Forest drinking unicorn's blood and that was why her scar hurt so much. But she sincerely doubted that Voldemort and Quirrell were the same person.

Ron reluctantly agreed to Hermione's reasoning just to prevent any more debates on the matter. Charlie wondered why her scar hurt whenever she looked at Quirrell, but kept this inquiry to herself.

"Maybe you should tell Professor Flitwick," Hermione whispered as she removed her wand and completed Charms essay. "You've said your scar has been hurting more than usual, right?"

"Perhaps her scar is giving her a warning." Ron suggested. Hermione didn't looked convince.

Flitwick collected their essays (he graciously gave Ron a few more seconds to hastily write up a conclusion) and began their revision for exams, which were only a few days away.

Those few days were spent in the library, studying for hours on end. Ron would soon discover that being friends with two Ravenclaws who spent so much time in the library wasn't such a bad thing after all.

During the time reading and revising, Charlie couldn't stop thinking about her scar. Why was it stinging more than usual? Was Ron right, was it really trying to warn her? Should she follow Hermione's advice and tell a teacher?

Charlie sighed heavily. Perhaps she was just overreacting. Maybe _she _was the cause of her throbbing scar. She had been worrying a lot lately; maybe that was what was causing it.

Their exams went by particularly fast. Charlie and Hermione found it to be a breeze, and Ron was shocked to actually know almost every answer. Harry figured he did alright in every subject-with the exception of Potions, of course.

"Finally!" Ron cheered as the four exited the castle and headed for Hagrid's hut for a visit. "Freedom!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Really Ron, the exams weren't that bad."

Harry knocked on Hagrid's front door and the large man opened it, his black eyes shining happily. "Hullo there! Finish yer exams, have yeh?"

"Yup," Ron said cheerfully as he sat down on the couch beside Harry and Charlie. "We've come for a visit."

Hagrid got them some drinks and Fang curled up by Hermione's feet. "So, Ron, has Charlie said anythin' 'bout Norbert?" He asked hopefully. He had been missing his little dragon.

Ron gasped. "Oh! I had forgotten to tell you! Charlie wrote to tell me that Norbert got there safely, and that Norbert is actually a girl dragon!"

"I'll be!" Hagrid said in awe. "Norbert is actually Norberta!"

Harry turned his giggles into a quick coughing fit. Hermione's face suddenly twisted up in confusion. "Hagrid...you never told us where you got the dragon."

Hagrid looked surprised. "Gee...I won it in a game o' cards. Strange, really. I don' win much."

"Who'd you win it off of?" Hermione insisted, growing worried.

"No clue." Hagrid admitted. "The man I won it off of wouldn't take his cloak off."

A stunned silence flowed throughout the room. "W-What did you talk to the man about?" Harry squeaked.

Hagrid frowned in thought. "Well, he asked me what I did fer a livin'. Told him I was a gamekeeper at Hogwarts...an' that I was interested in dragons. He offered one to me if I could beat him in a game o' cards. But before we played, he wanted to know if I would be right fer the little guy. So I told him I spent time around a bunch o' different creatures."

Ron was very pale at this point. "Did you mention anything about Fluffy?"

Hagrid stared at them in bewilderment. "Er...I suppose so. He kept buyin' me drinks so I can't remember much. Let's see...yeah, I might o' mentioned that Fluffy was real sweet and calm once you lulled 'em to sleep with some music." Then he looked horrified. "I shouldn't have told you that!"

The kids didn't give the large man a chance to say anything else. They ran from his hut and all the way back to the castle, only stopping in the entrance hall to catch their breath.

"It was Quirrell!" Ron babbled. "I bet you it was Quirrell underneath that cloak! And Hagrid! He told him how to get past Fluffy! _Oh no! _What if it was You-Know-Who?"

"Ron, it doesn't matter who it was!" Hermione snapped. "The Stone will still end up with Voldemort either way!"

"Do you have to say his name?" Harry moaned.

"**Fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself**." Hermione said firmly. "Now, we need to find Dumbledore and tell him everything!"

The four kids raced to Dumbledore's office (thanks to Hermione, who had studied the layout of the castle in _Hogwarts: A History_) and stumbled in front of the gargoyle statue that led to his office. "We need to see Professor Dumbledore right away!" Hermione cried.

The gargoyle frowned at them. "Can't get in without a password," He informed gruffly. "Wouldn't matter anyways; he just left for the Ministry. Fudge needed him for an urgent matter."

Having no idea who Fudge was or what the Ministry was, Charlie was pulled away with a hasty promise it would be explained later. "Now what?" Harry wailed.

"It was Quirrell," Hermione breathed. "He must have sent the note to Dumbledore to get him out of the way...he's going through the trapdoor _tonight!_"

The four were happy the student body was either outside or in their Common Rooms; they might have killed someone from the speed they were running.

Ron raced to watch the third-floor corridor. He encountered Snowy on the way and came up with an idea. He coaxed the cat into coming with him; if Quirrell went near the forbidden corridor he could send the smart cat to find the others.

Snowy, sensing the friend of her master in distress, followed after him.

Harry tore through the corridors and nearly slammed into Professor McGonagall. "Professor!"

"What do you think you're doing?" McGonagall snapped. "And why aren't you-what's the matter?" For she had noticed Harry's panicked expression and was slightly worried.

"The Stone!" Harry babbled, no longer to make coherent sentences. "Gotta get it out of danger! Right now! Third-floor...Quirrell!"

McGonagall stared at Harry in shock. "The Stone?" She said sharply. "What do you know about the Stone?"

"It's in danger!" Harry wailed, hopping anxiously on the spot. "Someone's gonna steal it if we don't hurry!"

"I don't know where you got that idea from nor do I know how you discovered the Stone, but I assure you it is safe." McGonagall crossed her arms and frowned at him. "I myself was in charge of placing enchantments around it to protect it. Now I suggest you go see Madame Pomfrey for a Calming Drought; you seem to be having a panic attack."

"I AM NOT HAVING A PANIC ATTACK!"

"Mr. Lupin!"

Harry groaned and spun on his heel, taking off before she could take away points. This was worse than he thought! Quirrell would know exactly how to get past the enchantments!

His heart pounded and his breathing was choppy. _Maybe I do need that Calming Drought._

He stumbled into the infirmary, pale and sweating. Madame Pomfrey stared at him in surprise. "Mr. Lupin! What do you think you're doing?"

"McGonagall...Calming Drought...need..." Harry moaned and slumped onto the bed. Pomfrey immediately knew that he was in the middle of a panic attack and fetched the Calming Drought. She gave it to him gently.

"Now Lupin, why don't you just lay here and rest for a moment." She soothed. "Then you can tell me what's wrong."

The effects of the potion took place instantly. Harry's breathing evened out and he could think more clearly. "The Stone..." he whispered softly. "It's in danger..."

Pomfrey stared at him in the same manner McGonagall had. "How do you know about the Stone?" She asked in a whisper.

"It's a long story...but it's in danger."

"Don't be ridiculous Lupin. I'm sure you're just being paranoid."

Harry groaned. Would _anyone _believe him? He hastily got up from the bed and took off once more, ignoring Pomfrey's shouts to come back.

...

"If you see Quirrell," Hermione hissed as they were about to split off. "Forget about being subtle; just run!"

Charlie promised she would and the two went in different directions. But they had just as much luck as Harry; Sprout had just stared at her in disbelief and couldn't seem to move. She ran into Hermione a few minutes later.

"I managed to convince Professor Flitwick to believe me!" She nearly shrieked with relief. "He and Snape were shocked at first-I think the only reason Snape didn't threaten me with expulsion for being a nosy know-it-all was because he knew all along it was Quirrell-but they hurried off to the third-floor corridor!"

"Oh that's a relief!" Charlie grinned.

"And Flitwick told me I got a hundred and twelve percent on my exam! Isn't that brilliant?"

"HE GOT IN!"

The two girls whirled around at Ron's howl. The ginger sprinted after Snowy and panted heavily when he reached his friends. "Quirrell went for the third-floor corridor and then Snape and Flitwick intercepted them. Snape threatened Quirrell that he better leave or else and-and-he knocked them both out!"

Snowy mewed in concern. Charlie ran a hand through her black hair and ordered, "Go find Harry and bring him here."

The cat took off and returned moments later with Harry stumbling behind her. "What's the matter?" He asked anxiously.

"Quirrell's going through the trapdoor." Charlie said calmly. She cast a quick glance out the window. It was dusk. It seemed Quirrell didn't want to wait too long before going after the Stone. "No teacher believes us and the two that did got knocked out by Quirrell. The last resort is for me to go after him."

"You mean us," Ron corrected firmly. "You're not going without us."

Charlie glared at him. "I can't let you do that."

"No. We're best friends; all of us. We're doing this together."

Hermione and Harry agreed. Charlie felt a warm, happy feeling spread through her chest. Her friends were sticking beside her even though it would be dangerous. "Fine. But one of us will have to stay here and owl Dumbledore and wait for his arrival."

Charlie quickly explained the simple concept of Rock, Paper, Scissors to Ron and Harry and they partook in a round. Harry won (he chose paper and everyone else picked rock) and got to stay behind. "Before you go through the trapdoor I should tell you that McGonagall said there are enchantments placed to protect the Stone." He warned.

"Thanks," Charlie smiled. Harry wished them luck and took off for the Owlery.

The other three ran for the forbidden third corridor. Ron carefully pulled the limp bodies of Snape and Flitwick aside and the three disappeared through the door. A gold harp sat beside the open trap door and Fluffy growled menacingly at them. Charlie started to sing a soothing lullaby and Hermione joined in. Ron stared in admiration as the dog began to droop. Soon he was asleep.

"I'll go first," Ron whispered. He jumped down and the two girls could hear the soft thump he made. "It's fine!" He called up, squinting in the dark space.

Charlie motioned Hermione to go next and quickly followed after the bushy-haired girl. They landed on something squishy and climbed to their feet. "That was brilliant!" Ron exclaimed. "I didn't know you could sing."

"I don't do it ofteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!" Hermione shrieked as something wrapped tightly around her waist and pulled her into the air. Charlie and Ron cried out before they too were captured and jerked into the air.

"What is it?" Ron cried, struggling madly. The grip on him only tightened to the point where he had trouble breathing.

"It's Devil's Snare!" Hermione breathed. "Don't struggle! It'll only make it worse."

She and Charlie went still. The grips around their waist loosened and they plummeted back to the ground. They could hear Ron shout in panic from above and Charlie sighed. "He's not relaxing..."

Hermione shook her head and pulled out her wand. She cast the blue flames she was good at creating and the Snare writhed in pain. Ron hollered as he was let go and crashed into the ground. "Professor Sprout's enchantment?" Hermione suggested as she helped Ron up.

"It looks like a bunch of teachers contributed to this." Charlie observed and they set off for the next chamber. They went down a stone passageway and Charlie gulped nervously as it sloped downwards. "I hope there's not a dragon anywhere in here..."

Ron moaned. Hermione squinted ahead and spotted a light at the end of the passage. She motioned ahead and they picked up their pace. The only sound was their hurried footsteps.

They reached the end of the passageway and Hermione gasped. They had entered a brightly-lit chamber with a high, domed ceiling. Hundreds of glittering birds flew around the chamber. Ron furrowed his brow in puzzlement. "How on earth are birds an effective enchantment?"

Hermione rubbed her chin and looked closely at the sparkling birds. "They're not birds!" She exclaimed. "They're winged keys!"

She and Charlie exchanged a look. "Professor Flitwick, definitely."

"So..." Ron said, peering at the large wooden door at the other side of the room. "We need to find the proper key to fit into the lock? How are we going to do that?"

Charlie scanned the many flying keys and spotted a large silver key with a bent wing, flying crookedly around the room. She pointed at it. "That one; Quirrell's already been through here." Ha, her Seeker skills were paying off.

Ron spotted some broomsticks propped against the wall and grabbed them. The three kids soared into the mix of rainbow-winged keys and sped for the desired one. Hermione was grateful for Madame Hooch's flying lessons as she whizzed about the room.

"Bloody thing!" Ron snapped as they key darted from his reach once more. "Charlie, you're the Seeker! Grab the thing!"

Charlie pursed her lips in thought. "Okay, Ron, you fly straight at it. Hermione, fly down towards it. I'll speed up from underneath and we should be able to corner it."

Her friends followed her directions and soon the key was speeding for the wall, desperately trying to escape. The three managed to corner it against the wall. The key made a last ditch effort to get away and Charlie made a sharp turn to intercept it.

"Got it!" She cheered, the key clutched in her grasp.

The landed and hurried for the large wooden door. Charlie jammed the key into the old fashioned lock and the door creaked open. The key flew off woozily and the kids hurried through into the next chamber.

Charlie whistled softly as they came upon a giant chessboard. She regarded the huge black and white chess pieces. "Alright...so what do we do?"

Ron cautiously approached one and tapped it. The knight sprang to life and seemed to peer down at him. "Excuse me-do we have to take the places of three chess pieces to play?"

The knight nodded. Ron rubbed the back of his neck and turned to face the two girls. Charlie held up her hands. "This is your area of expertise, buddy. I stink at chess." Hermione giggled.

Ron smiled and pointed out where he wanted them to go. The chess pieces that they replaced stood up and went off to the side. Ron was a knight, Charlie a bishop and Hermione a castle. Charlie could feel her heart pound as they lost their first chess piece. The other team certainly didn't hold back.

Hermione winced as their queen took out the other team's knight. "Oh dear..."

Ron studied the board in concentration. "Alright...I'm going to have to sacrifice myself."

The two girls protested. "No! You can't!"

"Look, that's the whole point of chess. You have to make sacrifices. I'll let their queen take me and then Charlie can take out their king!"

Hermione and Charlie watched in horror as Ron stepped forward. The queen reared back and struck him over the head. The ginger fell to the ground hard, head bleeding. He was dragged off the board and off to the side. Charlie wanted to go to him but reminded herself that they were still playing. She stepped forwards the king threw his crown to the ground.

They had won.

They rushed over to Ron and checked him over. He was bleeding badly and unconscious. "I'm going to go forward." Charlie told Hermione. "I want you to stay here with Ron. Don't try to move him; it might not be safe."

Hermione took a deep breath. "Alright. But be careful Charlie!"

Charlie nodded, straightened her shoulders, and went off to the next chamber.

"Ugh!" She clapped a hand over her nose as she came upon a troll. It was out cold. Quirrell was already with the Stone. "Glad I didn't have to fight this thing."

She stepped over the troll and went through to the next chamber. When she stepped over the threshold, a purple fire sprang up. A black fire was also roaring in the door leading towards the Stone. Charlie rolled her green eyes. "Snape..."

Seven different bottles rested on the table along with a piece of parchment. She picked it up and read it carefully.

_**Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,  
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,  
One among us seven will let you move ahead,  
Another will transport the drinker back instead,  
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,  
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.  
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,  
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:  
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide  
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;  
Second, different are those who stand at either end,  
But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend;  
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,  
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;  
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right  
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.**_

Charlie hummed in thought and read the parchment a few more times. She eyed the line of bottles before scooping up the smallest one. "Well..." she muttered. "Here goes nothing." She tipped her head back and downed it. An icy feeling spread through her body and she shivered.

"Alright Quirrell...ready or not, here I come."

And she walked straight through the black flames.


	14. Victory!

**The words in bold are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This is an AU. I appreciate reviews, but not flames :)**

**I do not own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.**

**Victory!**

"Quirrell," Charlie said coldly.

The man with the purple turban was caught off guard, much to Charlie's satisfaction. "You don't seem surprised at all." Quirrell managed to say when he collected himself. He didn't stutter one bit.

Charlie arched an eyebrow. "I was put into Ravenclaw for a reason. Aren't you surprised to find me here?"

Quirrell smirked cruelly. "Not at all. In fact, when I took care of those interfering professors I expected to see you here eventually. It's a shame Snape wasted so much time trying to keep you safe; I'm going to end up killing you tonight anyways."

He quickly pulled out his wand and struck her with the Body-Bind spell. Charlie toppled to the floor, arms glued to her sides and feet locked together. Cursing herself for not getting ready for defense (although she wasn't sure how much an eleven-year old could do to an agent of Voldemort) she twisted her position so she could look at him.

Quirrell was examining the Mirror of Erised from every angle, trying to see how he could get the Stone from it. "Only Dumbledore would use such a thing for a last resort..."

"Well, you aren't figuring it out, are you?" Charlie retorted. "Voldemort won't be very pleased when you fail him again."

The Defense teacher froze, eyes growing wide as he turned around to face her. "How did you-?"

"I'm in Ravenclaw for a reason." Charlie repeated with a smirk. "You tried to kill me by sending me off my broom and you tried to have a troll flatten me. I'm sure Voldemort was disappointed."

Charlie loved the feeling of having control since she was in a dangerous position. Quirrell looked completely flummoxed.

"He wasn't happy with me." He finally muttered. "But I'll do him good this time...I'll get the Stone for him!"

"How did you get tied up with such a dark wizard?" Charlie question, for she was truly curious. It also would help stall Quirrell in his insistent hunt for the elusive Stone.

"I was a foolish young wizard when the Dark Lord found me. He helped me see that there is no such thing as good and evil but power and those who are too weak to see it. I've served him faithfully..." He gave a shudder, as if a terrible thought crossed his mind. "But since my failure to steal the Stone from Gringotts, he has had to keep a closer eye on me."

This Charlie did not know. _So Quirrell did try to steal the Stone from the bank! But surely he isn't powerful enough to do such a thing..._

Charlie stared at Mirror in thought. No doubt Quirrell was seeing himself handing the Stone to his master. But what would Charlie see if she looked into it? Would she herself rescuing the Stone or just her family again?

Quirrell let out a curse that startled Charlie so much she jumped. "Where is the blasted thing? Master, please help me!"

Charlie furrowed her brow in confusion. There was no way Voldemort was here...it just wasn't possible!

"_Use the girl...you must use the girl."_

The raspy voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself. Charlie felt herself being freed from the spell and she slowly stood up. Quirrell gestured impatiently for her to come forwards and she did so, a bit apprehensive. Where on earth had that voice come from?

Charlie peered intently at the Mirror. At first, she could only see her reflection; an eleven-year old girl with long raven hair, bright green eyes, torn up robes and a quizzical expression on her pale face. All of sudden her reflection smiled. Reflection Charlie reached into her robe pocket and pulled out a blood red stone. She winked, and that was that.

Charlie blinked in surprise when she felt the weight of the Stone appear in her pocket. _No way...clever Dumbledore!_

She didn't know how he managed to make the Mirror do that, but decided not to question it. Now was the time to keep the Stone in her protection.

"Well?" Quirrell snapped. "What do you see?"

Charlie tapped her bottom lip and pretended to think. "I see you being crushed by a dragon."

...it was perhaps not the best thing to say at the moment.

"You insolent little brat!" Quirrell raged and removed his wand. Charlie was sure she was about to get hexed into oblivion.

Then the voice spoke again. _"She lies...let me speak to her."_

Quirrell lowered his wand and had worried look on his face. "But Master! You don't have the strength!"

"_Let me speak to her...now."_

Charlie slowly backed up when Quirrell turned around. She was about to make a break for it when he unwrapped his purple turban and the back of his head was exposed. She froze in place, green eyes widening in shock.

She was staring into the red eyes of Lord Voldemort.

"How?" She whispered, staring in disbelief. Ron had been right! Quirrell and Voldemort were one in the same.

"See what has become of me since that fateful night? I am nothing more than vapour...only having a form when someone is willing to lend their hearts and minds. Quirrell has been faithful...drinking unicorn blood. With the Elixir of Life I will be able to create a new body...and the era of Voldemort shall begin again." His face was white and his nose nothing but slits...almost like a snake.

Charlie could not help but feel hypnotized by those red eyes. She could not seem t move and her heart pounded violently in her chest. She could not believe what was happening. "I'll _never _give you the Stone."

"So much like your parents..." Voldemort whispered. "Brave until the very end. I admire bravery...your father fought courageously. Your mother, however, died for nothing. You would not want her to die in vain, would you child?"

"My parents loved me." Charlie said coldly. She knew they did and would always remember that. "Love is something you cannot understand. My mother died protecting me and she would not have it any other way. I know it and no one can convince me otherwise. You. Are. Not. Getting. The. Stone."

She sprinted for the flame door and Voldemort shouted out in rage, "DON'T LET HER ESCAPE!"

Quirrell lunged forward and grabbed her arm. A thousand bolts of pain exploded in her forehead-or perhaps just her scar-and she cried out. Charlie whirled around and grabbed his hand to throw him off.

Then the strangest thing happened. Quirrell snatched his hand away and cried out in pain. Charlie stumbled backwards, her head pounding furiously and stared dazedly at Quirrell's hand. It was red and blistering-as if he had been burned.

Charlie turned on her heel and made for the door again. Voldemort screamed, "GET HER!"

She was tackled to the ground and Quirrell wrapped his hands around her neck. He immediately snatched them back and cried out. Charlie did not know what was happening and the pain in her head was overwhelming. "I can't touch her!"

"KILL HER THEN, YOU IDIOT!"

Quirrell grabbed his hand and before he cast a fatal curse, Charlie shot her hands up and grabbed his face.

They were both screaming, pain and agony flowing through both of them. Charlie was certain her head was about to explode and Quirrell thought his face was on fire. Voldemort was screaming at him to kill the girl and Charlie shoved as hard as she could. Quirrell tumbled off of her and Charlie collapsed to the ground, the world spinning around her before she finally went unconscious.

...

At the beginnings of Charlie's confrontation with Quirrell, Harry was running around the castle like a mad man. He had sent off a school owl as soon as possible and was now trying to keep calm and avoid the wrath of both McGonagall and Pomfrey, who were no doubt searching for him.

Harry kept running a hand through his black hair and muttering to himself. "I really hope they'll be okay..."

After what seemed like an eternity, Harry heard Professor Dumbledore as he rushed through the corridors. "Professor Dumbledore!" Harry cried and nearly crashed into the Headmaster as he flew around the corner. "They went after the Stone and Quirrell might kill them if you don't hurry and-"

"Calm down," Dumbledore ordered and gripped Harry by the shoulders firmly. "Take a deep breath and tell me what happened."

"Charlie, Hermione and Ron went after the Stone! We believe Quirrell is trying to steal and they went to stop him. They-"

A sudden jolt of fear zapped through Harry and he gasped. Dumbledore held him upright. "What's the matter Harry?"

"I-feel really scared for some reason...I know my friends are in danger but...this feels really different."

Dumbledore knew instantly that the bond between Charlie and Harry was acting once again. And if his suspicions were right, Harry would be in terrible pain very soon. "Go to Madame Pomfrey and stay there until I return, understood?"

He had never heard his Headmaster speak so gravely before. Harry obeyed and sped off for the infirmary. Dumbledore raced for the third-floor and quickly sent off a Patronus to McGonagall when he encountered the limp bodies of Severus and Filius. He entered the room that had Fluffy and the dog growled menacingly for just a moment before Albus cast a music charm. The dog immediately calmed down and Albus went through the trapdoor.

The Devil's Snare was easy to take care of and he discovered the door in the key chamber ajar. He pushed through and hurried into the chess chamber where he discovered Hermione Granger applying basic first aid to Ron Weasley.

Hermione jumped in shock upon seeing her Headmaster rush over and quickly clean off the blood with a swipe of his wand. Hermione pulled back her soiled handkerchief and stared at him with wide eyes.

"Keep applying pressure to the wound. "Albus ordered hurriedly. "Do not move him until I come back."

He rushed off and Hermione knew instantly that Charlie was in grave danger. Whimpering, Hermione tried to keep calm and focussed on Ron, who was breathing shallowly.

Dumbledore burst into the final chamber in time to see Charlie and Quirrell fighting on the floor. He ran over and forcefully pulled Quirrell off of his student. Then a strange thing happened. Voldemort gave a roar of fury and looked at Dumbledore with scathing hatred-which Dumbledore returned with a cold stare-and took off. Quirrell slumped to the ground.

Albus bent down next to Charlie and felt her pulse. She was alive-but barely. He cast a glance at Quirrell and did not need to check his pulse-it was obvious he was dead. Voldemort had left him to die as he had with so many others.

He reached into Charlie's pocket and removed the Stone. "Brilliant..." He whispered softly. Then he let out a great sigh. He had been suspicious of Quirrell for some time, but he had not expected Voldemort to actually be sharing his body.

"Unpredictable and as devious and clever as ever before..." He shook his head and levitated Charlie onto a stretcher he conjured up. He would have to improve the wards around the castle and take extra precaution in hiring his professors.

He exited the chamber and stepped gingerly over the troll. Albus then gave his wand another wave and assisted Ronald into another stretcher. Hermione stood up and wiped her eyes. She gave both her friends frightened looks and asked, "Will they be okay?"

"If we get them to Madame Pomfrey, they will be." Albus said gently. "Come along."

Hermione followed her Headmaster through the connecting chambers. "Professor Dumbledore...what happened to Professor Quirrell?"

Knowing she used the title to be polite, Albus gave a slight smile. "Quirrell will do nicely, Miss Granger. As for what has happened tonight, I'm sure Charlotte will tell you when she wakes up."

...

Hermione had been checked over by Madame Pomfrey after Ron and Charlie were settled. She was fine and ordered back to her Common Room. Reluctant to leave her friends, she only complied when the medic-witch glared at her.

Dumbledore had indeed been right-the agonizing pain Charlie had felt in the chamber had been felt by Harry in the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey immediately gave him dreamless sleep to get through the pain and Harry woke up in time to see Hermione leaving. Frantic and bewildered, he hastily thanked Pomfrey and rushed out before she could say anything.

Ron woke up a day later, dazed and confused. Pomfrey excused him and Ron cast a worried glance at Charlie before running off to find Hermione and Harry.

Snape and Flitwick were revived later that night and went to give Dumbledore a report on what had happened to them.

Finally, Charlie awoke three days later, moaning in pain and gingerly rubbing her head. Her green eyes found twinkling blue ones. "Professor Dumbledore?"

"Good afternoon, Charlotte." Dumbledore smiled brightly at her. "How are you feeling?"

Charlie furrowed her brow. "Fine...is the Stone safe?"

"It's perfectly fine." Dumbledore assured her.

Charlie nodded and looked at the table beside her, which was covered in sweets. She arched an eyebrow. Dumbledore chuckled. "It seems your friends sent you tokens. A certain three have been very worried about you."

"Are they okay?" Charlie questioned as she slowly sat up.

"Indeed they are. You need not worry." Dumbledore smiled gently at her. "I'm sure you have a few questions about the Stone."

"Well...just a couple. Sir, what happened to the Stone?"

"It has been destroyed."

Charlie blinked in surprise. "But what about Nicolas Flamel? And his wife?"

"**Oh, you know about Nicolas? You **_**did **_**do the thing properly, didn't you?" **Dumbledore seemed very delighted by this.

Charlie blushed. "Yes, sir." No need to tell him Hagrid might have slipped up. "Are they alright with it?"

"They've agreed it's all for the best. They have enough Elixir to get their affairs in order before their time comes. No need to look gloomy, for them it will be like going to sleep after a very long day. After all, **to a well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure**."

Charlie thought about this and nodded. "Sir...Voldemort is going to try and come back."

It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes. Voldemort is not truly alive and so he cannot be killed. He will try many more times to come back to power, but those who are willing to fight can delay him time after time until he no longer tries."

Charlie twisted the white sheets and bit her lip. "Do you mind if I ask a few questions?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Ah the truth...I will not lie to you, but if I do not think you are ready to hear it-and I know you hate to hear this-I'm afraid I will tell you so."

Charlie nodded. "Sir, why did Voldemort want to kill me in the first place?"

"Alas, that is one of those questions that must wait until you are a bit older." Dumbledore informed her.

"Yes sir. As for why Quirrell couldn't touch me...is it because of my mother's sacrifice?"

Dumbledore was pleasantly surprised. "How did you know?"

"I kind of guessed...love seems to be something Voldemort does not understand, and my mother sacrificed herself to protect me."

"The love as strong as your mother's left its own mark-to be loved so deeply by someone even though gone gives some protection forever. Quirrell, full of hate and greed and sharing Voldemort's soul, could not be touch or touch something marked by so much good."

Charlie processed this and blinked away a few tears. "Professor...do you know who gave me my invisibility cloak?" She had an idea, but wanted to be sure.

"Ah yes, your father let me borrow it a few days before his passing. I've been keeping it until it could be passed down to you." Dumbledore smiled at her. "You've already put it to good use, I've seen."

Charlie blushed. "Sir...I know Professor Snape's been protecting me this year...but why does he hate me so?"

"It's simple because he hated your father-I'm sure he sees much of James Potter in you than he does the Lilly. They detested each other-much like you and Miss Parkinson. But then your father did something Snape could never forgive."

"What?"

"He saved his life."

Charlie stared at Dumbledore in shock. Dumbledore chuckled. "Strange, isn't it? Professor Snape could not bear being in your father's debt. I do believe he worked so hard to keep you safe because he believed it would settle the debt between the two of them**. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace**."

"Just one more question. How did I get the Stone from the mirror?"

"Ah, one my more brilliant ideas if I do say so myself. Only those who wanted to _find _the Stone, not use it, would be able to get it. Now, let's start consuming these sweets, shall we? I feel like a Chocolate Frog...I do hope I get Albus Dumbledore-I've heard he's a great wizard."

Charlie giggled.

...

Hagrid dropped by and blubbered an apology. Charlie quickly assured him that it wasn't his fault and she didn't like to see him cry, so please stop. However, it was her close to tears a minute later when Hagrid gave her a leather-bound photo album of magic wizarding pictures of her family and new friends.

Ron, Hermione and Harry came to visit her and they each exchanged stories. Hermione puzzled over what could be happening between Harry and Charlie but Ron told her it could wait. They walked towards the Great Hall for the final feast and the awarding of the House Cup. To almost everyone's disappointment, Slytherin would be winning.

"This sucks," Ron muttered as he and his friends walked through the elegant doors. "I want to slap the smug looks off of their faces."

"Be a good sport, Ron! Even if they don't deserve it..."

They separated and went to their respective House tables. Hermione and Charlie sat down at the end and cast an annoyed glance at the Slytherin table. Pansy was smirking and Draco was banging the table with his fists.

"Next year..." Charlie muttered, taking a drink from her goblet.

It was then Dumbledore stood and raised his hands for silence. "Another year has come to an end. I hope your minds are full and bursting with knowledge. You'll have plenty of time to empty them over the summer holidays. Now to the task at hand; the House Cup!"

The Slytherins whooped and hollered, as their hourglass of emeralds was the fullest. Dumbledore smiled. "The points currently are: Gryffindor with three hundred and twelve, Hufflepuff with three hundred and fifty two, Ravenclaw with four hundred and twenty six, and Slytherin with four hundred and seventy two."

As the Slytherins cheered, Hermione leaned towards Charlie and whispered, "Second place is not so bad."

But then Dumbledore raised his hands again for quiet. "But before the Cup is awarded, I do believe there are some last minute points to award due to recent events."

The Slytherins began to lose some confidence.

"First-Miss Hermione Granger...for staying cool even under dire stress, I award Ravenclaw House fifty points.

Hermione's chocolate brown eyes widened in shock and her mouth opened, but no sound came out. With that one chunk of points, they were ahead of Slytherin.

But Dumbledore was not finished yet. "Second-Mister Ronald Weasley...fifty points to Gryffindor House for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has ever seen!"

Ron's brothers patted him on the back and cheered loudly. Ron went a brilliant red and kept his eyes on the table.

"Third-Miss Charlotte Potter...**for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award** Ravenclaw House **sixty points!**"

The Ravenclaw table whooped and hollered, despite the fact they were already in the lead. Charlie grinned at Hermione. "You know, first place is even better than second place."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Finally-Mister Harry Lupin...I award Hufflepuff House twenty points for pure loyalty. It takes a true friend to be willing to face untold dangers to help a friend."

Harry blushed as his Housemates cheered for him. He had not expected any points at all!

"It seems that Ravenclaw is now in the lead! I do believe a change of decoration is in order."

The Ravenclaw table burst into joyous cheers and screams. Charlie and Hermione squealed with glee and hugged each other tightly. The silver and green decorations were replaced by midnight blue and bronze ones. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were standing up and cheering for them, happy that the Slytherins lost. The look on Pansy's face was priceless...and Malfoy looked like he wanted to curse someone.

Probably her.

Charlie and Hermione noticed that Ron and Harry were cheering the loudest for them. Not being able to help themselves, they both tore towards one of the boys and tackled them in a hug. Ron stumbled back in surprise as Charlie hugged him gleefully. "This is the best day ever!"

"The best day ever so far," Ron corrected with a grin.

Charlie laughed and raced back to her table. Hermione had finished smothering Harry in a hug and joined her seconds later.

...

Minerva McGonagall surveyed the cheering students and shook her head. "Really...I can't believe she managed to survive."

"It's quite the disappointment." Severus agreed. He quickly turned away to avoid Minerva's death glare.

"They're very brave students," Filius agreed proudly. "But I do hope they don't try anything like this again...I don't know if I can take it."

"Well..." Severus muttered. "If _someone _would have listened to the brats, then maybe they wouldn't have needed to."

"Are you sticking up for them Severus?" McGonagall asked, although she and a few other teachers felt guilty for not believing in the children. If something had happened to them, she didn't know what she would have done.

"No I am not!"

"I can't believe it was Quirrell..." Pomona muttered.

"This is the fifth time you said that since Dumbledore told the story." Filius rolled his eyes. "Hasn't it set in yet?"

"No, it hasn't! I'm still trying to get over the fact that Lupin ran out on Poppy. He's braver than I thought."

"Funny!" Poppy snapped from the other side of the table.

It was then Hermione and Charlie ran to give a hug to Ron and Harry. "You know..." Dumbledore mused. "I don't see why they can't sit together tonight after all they've been through. I think they deserve it."

"They broke how many rules?" Severus asked in annoyance. "And you're rewarding them further?"

"Yes." Dumbledore raised his wand and gave it a little wave. Ron and Harry found themselves being pushed towards the Ravenclaw table. They cast confused glances around the Hall before meeting Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes. Beaming smiles of thanks they hurried for their friends; Ron sitting beside Hermione and Harry sitting beside Charlie.

It was the best night of Charlie's life-well, the best night so far.

...

It was time for everyone to board the train and head back home. But before Charlie did, she had one more thing to take care of.

She knocked on Snape's dungeon door and it flew open. Snape glowered down at her, a scowl on his sallow face. "What do you want Potter?" He spat.

Charlie peered up at him. "I just want to say thanks for saving my life." It only seemed appropriate that she thanked him for such a thing.

Then she took off. If she had lingered, she would have seen something very uncommon-Professor Severus Snape was absolutely speechless.

...

"Right then," Hermione said briskly as she and her friends departed the Express. "I expect to see an owl from you Ron and you Harry if your Uncle has one. Charlie, you may not have an owl but you know perfectly well how to write a letter."

Charlie laughed. "I'll be sure to keep in touch."

"Maybe you lot can come over during the summer holidays!" Ron said eagerly. "I'll ask my Mum and send you all letters."

"I can't wait to get our exam scores..." Hermione said happily. "They come in the second weekend of summer, right?"

Ron and Harry rolled their eyes. "Well, there's my family." Ron said upon spotting a group of redheaded Weasleys. "I wouldn't come over; Mum has been asking all about you Charlie, you'll never get out of here."

Charlie wanted very much to meet Mrs. Weasley, but she agreed that it wouldn't be wise to keep her relatives waiting. "I ought to go as well. See you after the holidays if not sooner!"

As Charlie lugged her trunk over to her stiff aunt and uncle, she couldn't help but smirk. She could always threaten them with magic if they got to out of hand.

She couldn't _wait _until next year.

**Thank you all for your reviews! I really appreciate it.**

**Until next time,**

**AnimationNut out.**

**Peace!**


	15. Sequel Notice

**Sequel Notice:**

**Well, I'm sure you're going to be surprised, but the sequel to Chosen Girl is already up. It is called Chosen Girl and the Basilisk. If you're interested, then go check it out :)**


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